A Song of Hormones and Broken Hearts
by Lady Jeyne Deadpoole
Summary: A story about love and friendship and maintaining the social pyramid, because face it teens are at least as brutal as the people from Westeros. This story has 12 different POV characters and I've tried to translate their arcs or at least the general feel of their arc into modern times as best as I could. (rated T for swearing and hinting at sexual content)
1. Chapter 1

Day 1: The Last day of Summer

**Jeyne**

Jeyne was sitting in the backseat next to Sansa just like they had done last year.

She was looking out of the tinted window while Sansa chattered away about her party.

She was turning sixteen very soon and just like her brothers she would get to throw a big party at Winterfell, their family estate.

Sansa was wearing black shorts, a white t-shirt with a wolf on it and white converse.

She had painted her nails purple so they would match her earrings and she looked as beautiful as always.

"So what do you think, Jeyne, should I get cupcakes or a big cake?" Sansa asked looking at her with big blue eyes.

"Well I love cupcakes" she said biting her lip "but I also like cake"

Sansa let out a sigh and flicked her long red hair.

"That's the problem, Jeyne"

Sansa had been asking and texting her questions about the party for weeks now and she had learned that it was best to stay neutral since she was just going to ask you again anyway.

"What do you like, Arya?" Jeyne asked the girl who was sitting in the passenger seat next to her father.

Arya turned around and flicked her new, short haircut while imitating her big sister.

"Well it's just too damn hard" she said with sarcasm dripping from her words.

Jeyne couldn't help but giggle and Sansa shot her a sideways glare.

"Just answer the question, Arya" she said with a frown on her face.

Arya wrapped her long fringe, with the red streak in it, around her finger before answering the question.

"Cake" she said eventually and she leaned back in her seat again.

"Good" Sansa said with a smug smile on her face "cupcakes it"

Luckily that was the moment Ned Stark pulled up in front of their school leaving no time for Arya and Sansa to get into a fight.

"Thanks, Mister Stark" Jeyne said before getting out of the car.

With one hand she smoothed down the black skirt Sansa had insisted she should buy, even though she felt it was a little too short.

"It might impress a certain ironborn" Sansa had said and Jeyne had given in.

On top of the skirt she was wearing a white shirt with a black, lace collar and she had braided her long, brown hair in a sideways braid that fell over her shoulder.

When Arya and Sansa had said goodbye to their father they walked onto the school grounds.

Arya sprinted away to the football field to meet with Gendry and Hot Pie and Sansa and she slowly made their way there too.

"I was wondering…" Jeyne started while she bit her lip.

"Go one" Sansa said in a tired voice because she probably already knew what was coming.

"Do you think that.. maybe… just maybe… if I ask.. you know… Theon… to your party that he might say yes?"

Sansa flicked her hair again and let out a sigh.

"I honestly don't know what you see in him"

"He's just… Theon" Jeyne said while a blush spread over her face and she couldn't hide a smile.

"He's a player, who has hurt you countless of times" Sansa said "there are a plenty of better boys on this school who would love to take you to my party"

"He didn't hurt me" Jeyne lied softly while she clutched her books to her chest "he just doesn't notice me"

Sansa put an arm around Jeyne while they continued walking to the football field.

"Besides I don't even want him at my party"

Jeyne's eyes widened and she stopped walking.

"Why not?" she asked quickly.

"Because I want to invite a different kind of crowd.. you know… popular people" Sansa answered.

"Like Cersei?" Jeyne asked fearing Sansa's answer.

"Yes, like Cersei and Margaery and Joffrey" Sansa said smiling and she took hold of Jeyne's hand "it'll be fun, I promise"

**Theon**

Theon enjoyed the collective awh that rang through the school grounds when Robb's sleek, black car entered the school parking lot.

Ned had bought the car for Robb's sixteenth birthday last year but he hadn't had the courage to drive it yet and even now he was terrified that he was going to scratch it.

One time Theon had pretended he was going to run his key across the black paint but he had quickly learned that Robb did not appreciate that kind of joke.

Carefully Robb parked the vehicle and finally he dared to breathe out.

"Told you it would be fine" Theon said and he patted his friend's back.

Unfortunately Robb was not expecting this and he accidently stepped on the gas pedal again resulting in him almost bumping into another car.

Robb give him a quick but powerful death glare before getting out of the car.

"Stop stressing out about everything" Theon said and he put an arm around his friend's shoulder "you've got a beautiful car, you've finally succeeded in growing a beard.. sort of.. and you've got that hot girl's number from summer camp so.. STOP… STRESSING!"

Finally Robb started smiling as they walked to the football field.

"I know" he said "it's just that my dad will kill me if I wreck that car"

Theon shook his head.

"You don't have to tell me about annoying fathers, remember?" he said laughing.

They were walking to the football field where the pep rally would take place.

Apparently Stannis, their school's headmaster, had decided that this was the perfect way to start a new school year and Theon had to agree with him.

There was no better way of starting the year than watching the cheerleaders and Cersei and Margaery knew how to put on a show.

"So have you talked to Talisa lately?" Theon asked his friend.

Robb ran a hand through his brown curls and pulled a face that explained everything.

"No?"

Robb shook his head.

"It's complicated" he answered shrugging.

"Whatever, man" Theon just replied and he had to admit that he didn't like his friend's secretive attitude one bit.

Theon and Robb had both been camp counselors at a summer camp in Highgarden and Robb had met a girl named Talisa who was working there as a nurse.

Apparently they had bonded over saving a kid who almost drowned in the lake.

They seemed to have forgotten that he was the one who got the kid out of the water in the first place tough but luckily Kyra hadn't.

She had been another counselor at the camp and a quiet girl at first but this changed when she got some alcohol in her.

Suddenly he spotted Kyra and her friends who were already at the football field.

"Kyra!" he shouted and the girl turned around blushing.

She waved at him shyly and whispered something to her friends who started giggling in unison.

"I'm gonna say hi" Theon quickly explained to Robb before sprinting off in the girl's direction.

He wasn't paying attention and accidently bumped into someone's shoulder.

Jeyne let out a loud gasp and dropped her books.

"Sorry" she said in a high voice.

"Nah, that was my fault" he said while he picked up her books for her and put them back in her arms "Are you okay?"

She nodded and a blush spread over her face.

"Yes, I'm fine" she said with a shy smile.

"You look great by the way" he said checking her out and he ran a hand through his dark hair.

She really did look great in her short, black skirt.

"Thanks" she said and she got even redder.

He smiled at her until Sansa let out an annoying cough.

"Yeah, keep walking, Greyjoy, you've ogled her enough" Sansa added while she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Of course, Milady" he said rolling his eyes at her and he went to Kyra.

**Jon**

Jon was waiting near the school gates and he frequently checked his watch.

"Sam, where are you?" he muttered under his breath.

Jon and Sam always took the buss together to school but this morning Sam hadn't been standing at his usual stop or any of the others.

"Come on" he muttered again and he was starting to worry.

Nervously he tapped his foot until he saw Sam running while he came around the corner.

The fat boy's face was bright red and he was breathing heavily.

When Sam had finally reached him he had to lean against the gate for a while to catch his breath.

"I'm.. so… sorry" he said panting while he wiped the sweat of his forehead with the back of his hand.

"What happened?" Jon asked.

Sam closed his eyes as if he didn't want to be reminded of that and clenched his sides that were probably hurting.

"My dad" he said eventually and he made a gesture with his hand as if he was trying to wave the question away.

Jon knew all about Sam's father.

The man was too hard on him to be honest.

He had always wanted Sam to be an athlete or a bit tougher at the very least but his cruel tactics had never succeeded.

"Let's go" Sam said and they went to the football field.

They had almost reached the tribune when Jon spotted a familiar pair of grey eyes and something that looked like a cigarette.

"Arya!" he shouted and he could hear the short girl curse while she threw the cigarette on the ground.

Jon rushed to Arya's little clique who were smoking under the tribune.

"Arya, I cannot believe you're smoking again" he said and a guilty blush spread over the girl's face.

"It's just one cigarette" she said rolling her eyes at him but Jon knew her too well to believe her uninterested attitude.

"Don't do it again, okay?" he said trying to make eye contact with the girl who just kept looking at her boots "or I will have to tell your mother"

He couldn't believe he had actually said that.

He and Arya's mother didn't really get along.

She had never been able to forgive Jon the fact that he was born and she did little to hide this.

"You wouldn't!" Arya gasped.

"Try me" He said and the girl narrowed her eyes.

She looked at him like that for a while until she gave in.

"Sorry, Jon" she sighed and she gave him a rare but genuine smile.

Jon directed his attention at Gendry now who had managed to put out his cigarette without him noticing.. or at least he thought he had.

"You look out for her, okay?" he asked pointing a finger at Gendry and giving him his most intimidating look.

"No problem, Snow" Gendry said with a cheeky smile and he put an arm around Arya "wouldn't want anything to happen to our lead guitarist"

Arya giggled and punched Gendry's arm.

"I can look out for myself" she said crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Of course you can" Gendry said and he pulled her hood over her eyes.

Hot Pie and Gendry started laughing and Jon decided to leave them alone again.

He did promise himself to check on the Outlaws more often as Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie called their band.

They only played covers of the Brotherhood without Banners tough but they were starting to sound pretty good.

Jon climbed the stairs of the tribune until he was as far north as he could get and behind him he could hear Sam breathing heavily.

Pyp and Grenn were already sitting at their usual spot at the back of the tribune and they were wearing their black AV club polo shirts.

"Lord Snow!" Pyp shouted as soon as he was in earshot but Jon didn't respond to that.

He had been expecting some comments from his friends now that he was appointed head of the AV club.

"Hey, guys" Sam said smiling and he sat down in one of the plastic chairs taking up half the space of the chair next to him too.

"It's gonna start" Grenn said rubbing his hands together as the cheerleaders entered the field.

"Why the excitement, got a crush on Cersei or what?" Pyp asked teasing.

"No" Grenn said just a bit too quick and his face turned red.

Pyp and Sam laughed at that and even Jon cracked a smile.

He had to give it to them that Cersei and Margaery knew how to put on a show.

With their provoking dance moves and the portrayal of how wide a girl could actually spread her legs they once again succeeded in making their Headmaster look more than a little awkward as he tried to look everywhere but Cersei's ass.

The cheerleaders moved back to the sidelines of the field again after having received a deafening applause from the male half of the audience.

The football team entered the field and Stannis briefly introduced the players.

When he called out Jaime Lannister's name, the name of their quarterback, it was the other half of the audience's turn to cheer and applaud and the girls did.

Pyp rolled his eyes at Jaime and in a freakishly striking imitation he said: "this better not mess up my hair"

They laughed again as the whistle sounded and the game started.

It was supposed to be a friendly match but within minutes it was clear that that was not the other team's intention.

After a few violations a disaster happened.

At least if you liked high school football or your last name was Lannister.

Jon had seen the smug expression on Jaime's face been wiped off by a fist from a player of the other team which resulted into a gigantic fight.

The referee tried to stop it and eventually even Stannis had to interfere.

When most of the players had stopped fighting Jon could see Jaime lying on the ground holding his arm in an angle that couldn't possibly be natural.

"What's wrong with his arm?" Grenn asked standing up from his chair to get a better view and even Pyp was too shocked to answer.

Everyone's eyes were on Jaime or on his twin sister Cersei but when he thought Cersei was going to rush to Jaime he noticed that she was just fleeing the field.

"Where is she going?" Grenn asked again.

Luckily Jaime had more sibling than the lovely Cersei and it wasn't long before Tyrion had waddled to his older brother.

**Jeyne**

Like usually she spent the day at Winterfell with Sansa.

Sansa and she were cooking in the large open kitchen.

In the distance she could hear Rickon in the living room who was watching a cartoon show featuring some abomination which had made it his lifelong goal to be the most annoying and loud thing ever.

Bran was sitting at the dining table and was completely lost in his book.

The only time they heard him was when he told them to be quiet.

Theon and Robb were moving around them and had made it their mission to steal as much food as possible and Arya... well Arya was just being very useless since she still had no idea how to cook.

Sansa was yelling something at either Arya or Robb while Jeyne peacefully scooped out a few cherry tomatoes and filled them with mozzarella.

"Just let me do it!" Sansa said for the tenth time that day and she pushed Arya out of her way.

Theon was sitting on top of one of the countertops and he was laughing about something Robb had said.

Suddenly he got up from his seat and started walking in her direction.

Quickly she concentrated on her tomatoes again and she hoped that he hadn't noticed her staring at him.

Then she felt his body press against hers as he stood behind her and he placed his mouth near her ear.

A warm feeling spread through her body and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.

"You look so hot today" he whispered and she could feel his hot breath tingle on her skin.

Her knees went weak and she didn't know what to say while he reached over her shoulder stole one of the tomatoes and left again.

She finally dared to breath out again and she felt like she needed to lay down for a bit or maybe drink a cold glass of water.

"Are you, okay?" Sansa asked and for a minute Jeyne didn't know what to say.

"I'm fine" she said eventually and she started smiling.

It didn't take long before the entire dining table was filled with different dishes and after having to drag Rickon away from the television they all sat down at the table.

Cat Stark checked the clock one more time with a nervous look on her face.

"He should be here by now" she muttered under her breath and at that moment the phone started ringing.

Within second Cat had gotten up from her chair and eagerly picked up the phone.

The smile disappeared from her face as she told her husband that she understood that he couldn't make it... again.

Cat sat down again with a sad smile while she tried to pretend that she didn't mind Ned's absence.

Suddenly they heard footsteps and Jon climbed down the stairs.

"Thanks for telling me dinner is ready" Jon said to no one in particular.

"Be glad you get some" Cat said but Jon pretended he hadn't heard it.

Jeyne guessed he had gotten used to it by now.

Cat wasn't Jon's mother and she would never act like it not even a little bit.

"Let's eat" Robb said and they all continued their conversations like nothing had happened.

**Robb**

Theon had left about half an hour ago and Robb had gone to his bedroom to do his homework.

It was a large, white bedroom with big windows and grey curtains.

There was a poster of a direwolf hanging above his bed and a map of Westeros above his desk.

His bookcase was filled with books about the history of Westeros and his family.

Most of them had belonged to his father and looked as if they were about to fall apart from all the times they had been read.

He was sitting at his desk and a grey lamp lit the words written in his textbook but somehow he seemed unable to read them.

It didn't matter how many times he read the page the words just didn't seem to sink in.

He sighed and rested his head in his hands.

For the millionth time that day he checked his phone and hoped to notice a missed call but he was out of luck again.

He had met Talisa at summer camp and she had changed his life.

She had been standing next to the lake in shorts and the mandatory yellow polo shirt they all had to wear.

Her hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing dark sunglasses with a yellow frame.

She took the sunglasses off when she saw him tough and she looked at him with her beautiful dark eyes.

She had opened her mouth to talk to him and he had expected the sweetest words he would ever hear in his life but she had yelled at him instead

"_Why aren't you wearing sunscreen?!" _

Luckily she had warmed up to him during the rest of the summer and they had spent many nights gazing upon the stars while the kids were already in bed.

She was his first love and his first... you know.

He would never forget how she visited him in his cabin and he thanked the lucky stars that Theon was at Kyra's.

But like always the inevitable happened and summer had ended too soon.

She had cried when they had to leave each other and she had made him promise to call her everyday and he had kept his promise until today.

He checked his phone one more time and he was starting to worry.

Was it something he said?

Did something happen?

Suddenly the phone started to buzz and the screen lit up.

Robb quickly picked it up and he could feel his heart starting to beat faster.

"Talisa, I was starting to worry" he said trying to make his voice sound as light as possible.

"_I'm fine" _she said but she didn't sound fine.

"Did something happen?"

"_No... Yes... I don't know"_ her voice sounded soft and for a second he thought she was crying.

"You can tell me everything, Talisa"

"_I know... I'm sorry" _

He frowned and he wished he could see her face.

"Are you hurt?"

"_No, I already told you I'm FINE" _

He could hear her crying now even though her voice sounded angry.

"_It's better if you don't call me again"_

It felt like someone had just punched him.

"You can't be serious, Talisa what is going on?"

"_Leave me alone!" _

She hang up the phone and left Robb without an explanation.

Suddenly he could feel the cold wind gush in through the open window.

The wind tugged at his clothes and he felt very cold and lonely.

He stood up from his chair and closed the window thinking that this was a sign that summer had officially ended which only meant one thing: _Winter is Coming._


	2. Chapter 2

Day 2: Lannister Gold

**Tyrion**

Exhausted Tyrion walked onto the school grounds.

He had large bags under his eyes which he tried to hide underneath a pair of designer sunglasses.

People were staring at him but he had gotten used to that.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the words "dwarf" or "imp" but today no one was calling him that.

He could however hear them whisper tough.

"Jaime's brother" they all said and he was, even though Cersei tried to forget that.

Tyrion had stayed with his older brother at the hospital when Tywin and Cersei had already gone home.

Jaime had broken his arm in several places and they had to insert a big, iron pin in the bone.

He wouldn't be able to play football for a few months which meant he couldn't compete in the competition, which meant he wasn't getting his scholarship.

Tyrion had never seen his brother so desperate and it had kept him up all night.

Cersei however looked as impeccable as ever and she acted like nothing had happened.

Tyrion saw Bronn who was leaning next to the double doors that lead to their school hallway.

A cigarette was hanging from his lips as he raised his hand to show Tyrion he had noticed him.

They didn't greet each other but Bronn followed him inside nevertheless.

Tyrion didn't know exactly how they had become friends.

He had always been a loner, observing the rest of his class mates from a safe distance but this had changed at a peculiar class trip.

Tyrion had stolen some of his father's wine and was more than a little tipsy before they had even reached their destination.

In a rare moment of recklessness he had offered Bronn some and they had spent the rest of the trip drinking.

By the time they had reached their school again they were so drunk they could barely stand.

Tyrion had expected that Bronn would ignore him again the day after that but he hadn't.

From that day on Bronn always waited for him outside school and they sat together during lunch.

Sometimes Tyrion would sneak in some alcohol and sometimes Bronn would sneak in some weed.

"How's your brother?" Bronn asked who like usually was slowing down his pace so Tyrion could keep up with him.

"He broke his arm" Tyrion answered.

"I'm sorry, man, I know football is his life" Bronn said and Tyrion knew he meant it even though he was trying to sound casual.

"And your sister?" Bronn asked after they had both been quiet for awhile.

"You know how she is" Tyrion said sighing.

Bronn said something but Tyrion wasn't listening anymore.

He had spotted Shae near her locker.

She looked so beautiful just like every day.

Her long, dark hair and brown eyes drove him crazy.

She turned her head and spotted him down the hallway.

She smiled at him and Tyrion tried to smile back while looking handsome.

Something he had never succeeded at.

"Why don't you ask her out?" Bronn asked who had noticed that Tyrion had stopped listening.

Tyrion laughed bitterly and he shook his head.

"She would just laugh" he answered.

His brother would have asked her out instantly and of course she would have said yes to him.

Every girl said yes to Jaime even though he didn't seem to care.

Most girls didn't even say hello to Tyrion let alone agree to go on a date with him.

"I'll bet you a silver stag that if you ask her out she will say yes" Bronn said.

Tyrion laughed again but less bitterly.

"You're on, my friend" he said and he approached Shae fully aware of his stunted legs and how grotesque he must look to her.

"Hey, Tyrion" she said smiling when she saw him approaching her.

"Hello, Shae, you look absolutely stunning today" he said smiling.

He could only imagine how horrible he looked but this time it would be to his advantage.

"Thank you" she said and he could hear her enchanting foreign accent.

"I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me?" he asked without fear.

Why would he be nervous?

He already knew what she was going to say.

She was going to laugh, or she was going to be disgusted or worst of all she might feel sorry for him.

"I would love that" she said instead still smiling and she bent over so she could kiss him on his cheek "I'll call you tonight"

Tyrion just stood there with his mouth open.

Did that really just happen?

Behind him he could hear Bronn laughing.

"Told you so"

**Daenerys**

Dany entered the studio and sat down behind one of the drawing tables.

She was early and only a few other students were already sitting behind their desks.

She opened her backpack and retrieved the drawing she had been working on yesterday.

It was a dragon or at least it was going to be when she finished it.

Whatever she put her mind to drawing she always ended up drawing a dragon.

Black, green or white with glowing eyes and fiery breath.

Tomorrow they would get a trainee teacher and they would start working on an actual assignment but today she was free to work on it again.

She wanted to roll up her sleeves but she was afraid that someone would see her scars.

She told herself to stop thinking about it and concentrated on her drawing.

The school bell rang again and the girl who usually sat next to her rushed into the class room.

Daenerys believed she was called Shae but she wasn't sure.

She hadn't talked to anyone since she had arrived at her new school.

Everyone already seemed to belong to a group and she didn't seem to belong anywhere.

A bitter smile spread over her face.

All these years she had tried to get back home and now she finally was and it didn't feel like home anymore.

"That's really beautiful"

Dany looked up from her drawing and noticed Shae smiling at her.

"That's really beautiful" Shae said again.

"Thank you" Dany said blushing.

She had started to colour her dragon cream with golden horns and the large dragon was sleeping curled up around a little girl.

Dany looked over at Shae's drawing and noticed that she had drawn herself... naked.

Shae was laying on top of a bed with her eyes closed.

Her dark hair was spread out over her pillow and she looked like a Greek goddess.

"Your drawing is really beautiful too" Dany said full admiration.

"Thank you" Shae smiled and they both went back to work.

She coloured the little girl's hair silver just like her own and if she had opened her eyes they would have been purple too.

The little girl was naked tough but the large tail of the dragon covered her up.

The class room was completely silent apart from the scratching of pencils on paper and the jangling of Shae's many bracelets.

They stayed like that for the rest of their class until the bell rang again.

Dany packed her backpack and quickly left the class room.

It always took her awhile until she had finally found her next class so she was always in a hurry.

Dany rushed through the hallway while she checked her schedule to find her next class room and she accidently bumped into someone and fell down.

"Are you, okay?" the boy asked and he offered her a hand.

A blush spread over her face as she noticed how handsome he was.

He was dressed in all black and his grey eyes were so dark they seemed black too.

"I'm fine" she said and suddenly she felt very naked in her ripped jeans, white t-shirt and her loose red chequered shirt.

"Good" he said smiling "I'm Jon by the way"

"I'm Dany, Dany Targaryen" she said introducing herself.

Viserys had made sure that she never forgot to mention her last name.

"You're new here, aren't you?" he asked kindly "Let me help you"

Before she could say anything he had already taken her schedule from her hands.

"Wow you're taking High Valyrian!" he said still looking at her schedule "that's on the second floor, the third class room at you're right"

He handed her back her schedule and she stuffed it in her backpack.

"Thank you" she said smiling shyly.

"Any time" Jon said before turning around "see you around, Dany Targaryen"

**Cersei**

Cersei Lannister was standing in front of the bathroom mirror and admiring her own reflection or at least that was what it must look like to others.

Every hair was in place and she had never had one zit in her life but she was missing something.

She let out a sigh and Margaery stopped applying her lip-gloss.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked her.

Cersei hated Margaery to be honest but she was rich and popular and Cersei needed that in a friend.

"Nothing" she answered.

She hadn't told anyone about Jaime and she wasn't going to start with Margaery.

"Does this have anything to do with Jaime?" the Tyrell girl asked.

Seven hells, how did she now that?  
Cersei hated it when Margaery tried to meddle in her business.

Why did she always have to try to be her friend?

"No, Jaime is fine" Cersei answered and she hoped the girl would leave it at that.

She couldn't stand watching Jaime like that.

So vulnerable and desperate.

Their father had always taught them to be strong and Jaime couldn't right now so she had to be strong for both of them.

"He's not fine, Cersei" Margaery said in a soft voice and she tried to take hold of Cersei's hand.

"Don't touch me" Cersei said and she quickly moved her hand.

She didn't need anyone's pity and especially not Margaery Tyrell's.

She had lived through her mother's death and Melara's and she would live through this.

"He will be fine soon enough" she told Margaery and somehow she managed to fake a smile.

Margaery smiled back at her.

Cersei hated that smile.

It made Margaery look dumb and fake but Cersei guessed that's how men liked their women.

Margaery had long, curly brown hair and big doe eyes and she was very pretty indeed though not as pretty as Cersei.

She knew that for sure.

Still some men seemed to prefer Margaery and that stung.

She would never tell Margaery that tough.

"You need something to take your mind of Jaime" Margaery said while the girl tried to decided how many buttons she could leave unbuttoned before Stannis would call her to his office.

Cersei didn't like to but she had to agree with Margaery but what would suffice?

Suddenly the door swung open and Sansa Stark entered the bathroom followed by a girl whose name Cersei could never remember and honestly didn't care to either.

"Hi" Sansa said greeting them with a bright smile.

Cersei was already starting to hate that smile too.

"So the party is going to be in the backyard" Sansa told the brunette who gave her a confused look.

Cersei already knew Sansa was only stating something obvious so they would ask about the party.

Oh what the hells she thought.

"What party?" Cersei asked after she gave Margaery a meaningful look.

"My sweet sixteen" Sansa said smiling because her plan had worked.

"Oh a sweet sixteen? How lovely!" Margaery said and a plan started to form inside of Cersei's head.

"We love parties, is there anything we can do to help?" Cersei asked knowing that Sansa would immediately say yes.

"Really? That would be amazing" Sansa said with that same dumb smile.

"It's settled then" Cersei said "call us if you need anything"

After that Cersei linked arms with Margaery and guided her out of the bathroom.

"So why are we going to Sansa's party?" Margaery asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Because, my dear Margaery, we are nice people"

Margaery started laughing loudly and for the first time it sounded genuine.

"And why are we really going?" Margaery asked.

"Because the bigger your parties are the more popular you get" Cersei answered "and the Stark parties are becoming frighteningly big"

"So we're going to take credit for it?" Margaery asked and there was nothing left of that dumb smile on her face.

The rose was starting to show her thorns and on moments like these she actually did like Margaery at least as much as Cersei was capable of liking anyone that wasn't her or Jaime.

"Maybe" Cersei answered "but we'll make sure it's memorable at the very least"

**Jeyne**

Sansa was still smiling when they entered the cafeteria.

"I just can't believe it" she said again "everything's going exactly like I planned"

Jeyne didn't even want to respond to that.

She had a bad feeling about this.

"Sansa, over here!" a voice called from the centre of the cafeteria.

They turned around and saw Margaery waving at them or at Sansa to be precise.

"Come on" Sansa said and she linked arms with Jeyne just like Cersei and Margaery had done.

When they reached the table they were greeted by a smiling Margaery who immediately offered Sansa the last free chair.

"Come sit next to me, Sansa, I was just telling the others about your fabulous party" Margaery said.

Sansa sat down without thinking twice and left Jeyne behind.

She could feel the girls at the table looking at her and judging her.

She felt uncomfortable and didn't understand why her friend wasn't helping her.

"Oh dear it looks like we're all out of chairs" Cersei said in a flat voice "I'm sorry"

Sansa looked up from her seat to Jeyne who was about to cry.

Was Sansa really going to leave her like this?  
"You don't mind sitting somewhere else, do you?" Sansa asked her with a guilty look on her face "Just this once?"

Jeyne shook her head and tried to fake a smile.

"No that's okay" she said softly "see you later"

That said she turned around and walked away from the "popular table".

She could hear Cersei and her friends burst out into laughter and she was certain they were laughing about her.

She looked around the room to find a place to sit.

She spotted Theon sitting with Robb and some of their friends and they were laughing about a story Theon was telling.

Apparently the story included juggling or something entirely else according to Theon's gestures.

She realized that without Sansa she didn't really belong anywhere and she was also fully aware that she had been standing in the middle of the room for a while now.

She felt tears burn in her eyes until she felt a hand on her arm.

The strong but short girl dragged her to a table at the other side of the room and pushed her in a chair across from Gendry.

"Thanks" she told Arya softly with a warm smile.

Arya made a gesture with her hand as if she was trying to wave her thanks away and gave her a smile instead.

"No problem" she said while flicking her long fringe out of her eyes.

Jeyne already knew the two boys sitting at Arya's table but suddenly she realized that she had never actually talked to them before.

"Guys, this is Jeyne" Arya said gesturing at her "and these two idiots are Gendry and Hot pie or better known as The Outlaws"

"Nice to meet you" Jeyne said.

The larger boy was half way through a roll of Oreos and offered her one too.

"No thank you, I'm trying to lose weight" Jeyne said folding her hands on her flat stomach.

A piece of Oreos fell from Hot Pie's lips as he watched her in utter amazement.

She noticed that Arya and Gendry were looking at her funny too.

"Why?" Gendry asked eventually.

"Sansa read about this really good diet so we're trying it together" Jeyne said while a blush spread over her face.

Before she could do anything Gendry had already forced an Oreo into her mouth.

She was starting to get angry until she tasted the divine taste of the cookie.

"That's so good" she moaned closing her eyes.

Hot Pie and Gendry started laughing and the Outlaws shared some more food with her.

Apparently Hot Pie loved baking, hence his name, and he was all about spreading the love.

"So what do you guys play anyway?" she asked after eating her third Oreo.

"I play the bass and Hot Pie drums" Gendry answered "and little Arry is our lead guitarist and singer"

"Temporary singer!" Arya sighed "I suck at it"

They all laughed including Jeyne.

"We mostly play covers of the Brotherhood without Banners but we're trying to write or own songs too" Gendry said.

Jeyne's heart skipped a beat when she heard the name of her favourite band.

"The Brotherhood without Banners! That's my favourite band EVER! Beric Dondarrion is the best guitarist that has ever lived and ever will live and when he sets fire to his guitar, he sets fire to my heart" This all came so quickly out of her mouth that at the end of the sentence she was actually out of breath.

The Outlaws laughed again and she could feel a blush spread over her face.

Sansa had never really liked the Brotherhood's music and the one time they did go to a concert together she had complained about the loud music the whole time.

"If you like it so much you should definitely come to our rehearsal" Gendry said.

"I don't know" Jeyne said biting her lip.

She didn't want to intrude.

"Oh come on, Jeyne, you have to come!" Arya said begging her "and then you can sing too because the boys always laugh at me when I sing, please, please, pleeeeease!"

Jeyne laughed and agreed eventually.

"Fine, but I'm not promising to sing" she said.

**Jon**

_"__Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.__"_

The two freshmen were sitting on one knee like Jon and all the others had done too when they had joined their club.

The Oath had been a joke of some student that had attended their school a long time ago but it had become a tradition.

Jon liked it to be honest.

When someone said the Oath they became an undeniable part of their group and for a lot of students that was exactly what they needed.

To belong somewhere.

Somewhere where they weren't just someone's bastard child; a secret that should be hidden.

Grenn handed the two freshmen each a black polo shirt with the small AV logo on it.

"Wear it with pride" he said.

"So that everyone will know that you're one of us" Pyp added "we keep this school running"

Pyp wasn't wrong.

Every computer, every TV and even Stannis's new high tech system were under their control.

Without them the whole system would fall apart but thanks to Stannis they at least had the most modern equipment the school could buy for them.

Stannis had helped the AV club a lot since he had taken over the school as headmaster even though he didn't know a thing about computers.

More than once he had called Jon to his office just to show him how to open his e-mail.

Stannis would never admit that to anyone tough and it wasn't long before he had started to trust Jon and named him the new leader.

"If you need anything you can just ask your Lord Commander" Pyp told the freshmen who looked at Jon with big eyes.

Jon just rolled his eyes at Pyp.

"That's enough" Jon said.

"Of course, Milord"

"Pyp, seriously cut it out" Jon said and the boy finally shut his mouth.

The ball rang and the freshmen rushed out off the room after having said a high-pitched "bye".

They all laughed and Pyp opened their secret cabinet and retrieved a hidden bottle of wine.

"Are you sure?" Jon asked looking at the bottle.

"What you're gonna tell, Stannis?" Pyp asked teasing "besides it's the end of the school day anyway"

Jon gave in and Grenn poured their wine in a few red solo cups.

He handed one to Sam who was sitting in a luxurious swivel chair since he had broken the cheaper version.

The boy really couldn't help it but he was just so... fat?

Jon drank his wine while they laughed about the jokes Pyp made.

Suddenly the door burst open and a girl with red hair ran into the room.

She grabbed Jon's arm and dragged him to the computer room across the hallway.

"Fix this" she said after letting go of him and pointing at a computer.

Jon took one look at the screen and immediately saw a million error messages clogging up the screen.

"What did you do?!" he asked the girl.

"I don't know!" she shouted banging on the keyboard "THE STUPID THING WON'T WORK!"

"Don't do that!" he shouted and he gently pushed her away from the keyboard.

Jon started to remove the messages one by one while the girl kept a close eye on him.

"I could have done that!" the girl shouted and she tried to push him away again.

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" he eventually shouted and the girl looked at him with a surprised expression on her face.

She sat down nevertheless and stayed quiet for at least a little while.

"What's your name?" he asked the girl while he clicked away.

"Ygritte, yours?"

"Jon Snow" he said and he finally got rid of all the error messages.

He gave her an accusing look as he found the source of her problem.

"You tried to hack the system?" he asked her surprisingly calm.

Her face turned as red as her fiery hair.

"Did not!" she said but he knew she was lying.

"Why? The year just started so your grades couldn't have been that bad yet" he said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

She rolled her eyes at him.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow" Ygritte said.

"Then tell me"

She let out a sigh and rested her head in her hands.

"I'm so stupid" she said "I thought I could erase the grade system"

"What?" he asked laughing.

Ygritte turned red again and shot him an angry look.

"Don't laugh at me! Without the grade system teachers couldn't discriminate students anymore!" Ygritte said.

Jon tried to stop laughing because she was looking at him with an extremely serious face.

"That's indeed stupid" he said.

"Oh you know nothing, Jon Snow" Ygritte said but this time it sounded less angry.

"Listen, I won't tell Stannis that you tried to hack the system but don't mess with this again, okay?" he asked with a kind smile.

Ygritte smiled back at him and for the first time he noticed how pretty she was.

"Fine" she agreed eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

Day 3: Tryouts

**Renly**

Renly was incredibly nervous as he entered his old high school.

He tried to walk through the hallways with an aura of authority around him but ended up having to push pass the flock of freshmen trying to get to their next class in time.

When he had finally reached Stannis's office his designer shirt was covered in wrinkles.

He cursed while he tried to smoothen it down but he had to give up quickly.

He wanted everything to go perfect that day.

Renly knocked on the door with Stannis' name on it and waited until he heard his brother's voice telling him to come in.

He opened the door and saw Stannis sitting behind his desk.

His secretary was sitting on his desk and she gave him that weird look she always gave him as if she felt sorry for him somehow.

Stannis's secretary was named Melisandre and like usually she was wearing red, all red.

Her heels were red and her dress that was too tight and too short according to Renly too.

She had painted her nails red and her long hair was red as well.

On her nose were a pair of red glasses and Renly could go on like that forever.

She got up from the desk and continued stirring her coffee while she gave him that weird look.

"Good to see you" she said eventually and she actually smiled at him.

A shiver ran down his spine as the woman finally left the office.

"I didn't know she still worked for you" Renly said when he believed she was out of earshot.

Melisandre had been Stannis's secretary when he had still worked at their family's company and even then she had scared all seven hells out of him.

"She is good at her job" Stannis said shrugging.

Renly wondered what else she was good at since he knew that Stannis barely saw his wife anymore.

"Sit" Stannis said gesturing at the chair across from him.

Renly sat down and he tried once more to smoothen down his shirt.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity" Renly said and he was glad the hard part was over.

Renly was currently in his second year at the Art Academy and Stannis had arranged for him to be a trainee teacher at his school.

Renly knew that this meant that he would have to spent the rest of his life having to hear Stannis tell him how lucky he had been but for once it was worth it.

Robert had also offered him a part-time job but he had to decline.

Ned Stark was the one who was really running the company now or at least the one who was doing his best to save it.

Robert was too busy drinking and whoring and shaming his company to realize what he was doing to himself and his family.

Renly hadn't noticed that Stannis was rambling on and on about all his little rules.

Honestly he couldn't care less but he made sure to nod every once in a while so Stannis would feel appreciated enough.

"And on top of that you will have to dress more appropriate next time" Stannis said concluding his monologue.

Renly couldn't help but feel insulted by that, if it wasn't for his wife, or more likely Melisandre, Stannis wouldn't even be able to dress himself.

Renly however spent almost all his money on expensive designer clothing.

It wasn't his fault that the students didn't seem to care about that.

"Fine" he said and he got up from his chair.

"Good and, Renly, uhm... it's uh... it's good to have you here" Stannis said while shaking his hand.

Renly knew how hard it was for his brother to show actual human emotion so he took it as a compliment and smiled at him.

"Good to be here, brother" he said and he left the office.

He hurried to his classroom and noticed that most students were already there.

"Sorry I'm late" he said and he wrote his name on the chalkboard in a flowing handwriting.

"My name is Renly Baratheon and yes Stannis is my brother but I'm nothing like him really"

A few students chuckled but most of them seemed barely awake.

Oh Gods.

Renly started reading the list of names Stannis had given him along with the curriculum.

Most names he didn't even recognize and some were more memorable like Targaryen.

Renly thought that the Targaryens had all fled the country years ago but apparently one of them had found her way back.

"Has anyone seen Loras?" he asked when he noticed that he was the only person missing from the list.

The door immediately swung open and a handsome boy entered the classroom.

He had shoulder length brown, curly hair and kind eyes.

"I'm here, professor" he said with a cheeky smile and he sat down in a seat in the front row even though many others were available.

Renly didn't really know why but suddenly he felt like it was unusually hot in the classroom.

"I've heard you all have been working on a drawing of your choice and I would love to see these" Renly said "that way it's easier for me to determine at what level everyone is"

The students retrieved their drawings from their backpacks and put them on the tables in front of them.

Renly went to the girl named Targaryen first and he was pleasantly surprised.

She had drawn a beautiful dragon curled up around a naked, little girl.

"It's very pretty" he told her smiling "I could look at this for hours"

He really meant that.

The way the dragon was protecting or maybe even keeping the girl hostage was intriguing at the very least.

The drawing of the girl sitting next to her was... different.

Without any sense of shame she handed him the drawing of her naked body and Renly couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

"I love the... uhh... light" he just said since he had felt like it was necessary to say something.

He retrieved all the other drawings and tried to encourage the children.

Finally he reached Loras Tyrell.

The boy was casually leaning back in his chair and gave him a dazzling smile.

Renly couldn't figure out what it was about the boy that made him blush every time they made eye contact.

The boy handed him his drawing and it was beautiful.

He had drawn a sword entwined in a rose bush.

The thorns, the blood red roses and the way the light seemed to reflect of the sword it was just magical.

"This is very good" he told him with a smile.

"Thank you, professor" he said and for the first time the boy looked slightly shy and he even blushed a little.

Renly started blushing too but only a lot less charming.

"Let me open up a window in here" he said and he quickly did and for the first time in his life he was happy that it was almost winter and therefore cold outside.

**Margaery**

Margaery and Cersei were sitting in the large garden of the Tyrell's family estate.

The late September sun wasn't enough to keep them warm so Margaery had turned on the heath lightning nevertheless it was more than comfortable.

The garden was full of beautiful flowers and they could hear birds singing.

In the distance they could also hear the bubbling of the fountain.

In front of them were many different pastries and a beautiful porcelain teapot and cups.

They were having a high tea like they did almost every Friday but Cersei was awfully quiet.

She was probably still thinking about Jaime.

"Do you want some more tea?" Margaery asked her and Cersei nodded vaguely.

Margaery poured her another cup of tea and tried to keep her calm expression glued to her face but in truth she was losing her patience.

Cersei wasn't a nice person.

Margaery knew that but she also knew this was only because she didn't let herself.

To Cersei kindness was weakness.

Margaery knew however that it could be your greatest strength.

"How's Jaime doing?" she asked Cersei.

"Better" Cersei answered and Margaery knew it was true since there had been a hint of a smile on Cersei's face.

Cersei did really love her brother and it was often the only thing she really liked talking about that didn't involve shopping or hurting other people.

"Now let's talk about Sansa" Margaery said and an annoyed expression appeared on Cersei's face.

Well to be honest that was Cersei's most common expression.

"She's so dumb" Cersei said staring off in the distance "she just wants to be popular"

"Don't we?" Margaery asked her and Cersei frowned.

"It's not just about having a lot of friends and going to parties" Cersei answered.

Margaery nodded and sipped from her tea.

"It's having the right friends and going to the right parties" she added.

This time it was Cersei's turn to nod.

They both knew exactly why they were friends.

The Lannisters and the Tyrell's were filthy rich and LannisCorp and Tyrell Enterprises had been doing business for years now.

They both knew that when they would graduate from college they would start working at these companies and their friendship would proof itself to be crucial.

"If you don't like her" Margaery started carefully "then why are we helping her plan her party?"

Cersei looked at her with that same annoyed expression on her face as if she had completely missed the point.

"I already told you that she just wants to be popular" Cersei said as if she was talking to a three year old "can you guess her next move after her party?"

"Prom queen?" Margaery asked sighing.

Cersei and Jaime had been prom queen and king for as long as she could remember but last year Robb Stark had won the crown.

"If Robb and Sansa become prom queen and king it's over for us" Cersei said and Margaery knew she was right.

No one would put up with their behavior if they lost that game.

No more skipping classes, no more having other people do your homework for you and more important they would lose their respect.

Just like in real life they just couldn't afford to lose to the Starks.

"So we'll ruin her party?" Margaery asked Cersei.

Cersei shook her head and put some more sugar in her tea.

"We won't do anything" she said while an evil smile spread over her face "but there's a Frey who owes me a favor"

**Jaime**

The football field was completely deserted just like the rest of the school.

Jaime was walking aimlessly over the field and he could smell the grass.

A whole year without football.

He couldn't understand it honestly.

Sport was his life.

He had never done anything else and to be honest it was the only thing he was good at.

Jaime couldn't imagine his friends playing a whole season without him.

They would lose of course and it would be his fault.

Well not completely.

He may or may not have called one of the players of the rival team the son of a goat but how could he have known that he was going to start a fight over it?

The pain had been unbearable but the fact that his right hand was now completely useless was even worse.

The cast was awkward and too large.

This morning he couldn't even dress himself and Tyrion had to help him.

Tyrion his little brother who had to climb on a chair to even be able to do this.

He had asked Cersei first but she had pretended not to hear him.

She was pretending his broken arm didn't exist anyway.

She thought of him as weak now and that might be the hardest to deal with.

Jaime hoped she would turn around soon tough.

She was his twin sister and he couldn't live without her at his side.

When they were younger they had been so inseparable that their mother had moved them to different bedrooms at opposite sides of the house.

She had hoped this would make them more independent but it hadn't worked.

Jaime noticed that someone had forgotten a football on the field.

He awkwardly picked it up with his left arm and tried to throw it.

It almost immediately hit the ground again and he let out an exhausted sigh.

"That was horrible, Kingslayer"

Jaime turned around and looked into the ugly face that had spoken those words.

Kingslayer was his least favorite nickname.

He had earned it when he had made an unforgivable violation against a player from the opposite team and apparently his last name had been King.

"Brienne the Beauty" he said.

She was the last person he had wanted to see.

The sight of her ugly mug made his eyes burn.

Brienne was a girl who was a bit larger than most girls.

Jaime and his friends had often teased her because of that.

One time he had challenged her to a duel to see who could do the most pushups.

He had won of course but he had to admit that he had underestimated her at first.

He also hadn't liked the fact that his friends kept mooing at her and indirectly telling her she was a cow.

"What are you doing here?" he asked the girl.

A blush spread over the girl's freckled face and she pointed her blue eyes at her feet.

"I came here to practice" she muttered.

"What? Cheerleading!" Jaime said and he started laughing.

The thought of Brienne jumping around in a cheerleaders outfit was priceless.

She was probably the most ungraceful person he knew and she would only look worse next to Cersei.

"No" Brienne said and she gave him a fierce look "football"

A smug smile spread over his face.

He should have known that that was her reason to be here.

She had even cut her hair.

"Show me" he said and awkwardly he tossed her the ball.

Brienne sighed and turned even redder.

"Come on, you will have to show it at tryouts too if you're actually serious about making the team"

"All right" she sighed and she threw the ball harder and faster than he had ever seen someone do.

Well apart from himself of course.

**Jon**

Nervously Jon stood in front of Ygritte's apartment.

He couldn't believe he was actually standing there.

It had all gone so fast.

That afternoon Ygritte had come to the AV room again.

She had walked up to him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Ask me out" she had said.

At first he didn't know if she was serious but when he didn't respond she punched his arm and asked him again.

"Will you go out with me?" he eventually managed to see and a smile spread over Ygritte's face.

"Of course, pick me up at eight"

After that she had disappeared and he had spent the rest of the day trying to find out where she lived.

Sansa had helped him find some nice clothes to wear but when she tried to mess with his hair he had kindly told her to leave his room.

Now all there was left to do was knock on Ygritte's door and hand her the bouquet of tulips he had bought but somehow that seemed incredibly hard.

He took a deep breath and did it anyway while he could feel his heartbeat accelerate.

It seemed to last an eternity before Ygritte finally opened the front door for him.

"Come in" she said with a smile and before he could greet her she turned around again.

Jon followed her into the small living room.

"I didn't know you invited more people" he said blushing while he looked at the older boys watching football on Ygritte's couch.

"Oh they live here" Ygritte said shrugging "it's better than the orphanage I guess"

He gave her a confused look.

"I didn't know you were..." he said but Ygritte just shrugged again.

"It's okay, Orell and Styr are my family now"

Until now all he had seen was the hard Ygritte but underneath that there was a kind and maybe even shy girl.

"You brought me roses!" she suddenly said when she noticed the small bouquet of flowers.

"There tulips actually" he muttered but he handed her the flowers nevertheless.

"I don't see the difference" Ygritte said but before he could react she was already looking for a vase to put them in.

Orell and Styr were staring at him from the couch and he felt more than a little uncomfortable.

"So you're her new boyfriend?" one of them asked.

"I guess" he said and he was starting to feel even more nervous.

"They won't last" the other one said "Ygritte will tear the boy apart, look at him he's prettier than half the girls you dated"

The men both laughed and clinked their bottles of beer together while Jon's face reddened.

He didn't know what to say and just hoped that Ygritte would return soon.

"I bet he'll cry when she breaks up with him" the first one said Orell or Styr.

"And then he can run back to his mommy and daddy at Winterfell" the other added.

They started laughing again but Jon quickly stopped them.

"My mother's dead" he said "just like yours, the only difference is that I don't act like an asshole because of it"

They finally shut up about him and went back to watching their football game but Jon was sure that he had just earned some of their respect.

Ygritte finally returned to the living holding a mug in which she had put the flowers.

Jon didn't really know what to say but Ygritte was smiling so happily that he just couldn't complain about it.

"Let's go" she said after putting the mug on the coffee table in front of Styr and Orell.

She said goodbye to her friends and opened the front door for Jon.

When he walked through the door Ygritte slapped his ass and Orell and Styr laughed harder than Jon had heard them do that evening.

Jon turned red again and Ygritte gave him a crooked smile.

"You're cute when you blush" she said and Jon turned even redder.

She took hold of his hand and they walked through the hallway.

"Orell and Styr didn't seem to like me" he told her and she smiled at him.

"So?"

"Well they're your family, don't you mind?" he asked her.

She laughed and put her arms around him.  
"You know nothing, Jon Snow" she said and she gave him a long and passionate kiss.

His first kiss to be completely honest and he was sure he was never going to forget it.

**Arya**

It took a while before Arya had finally succeeded into dragging Jeyne away from Sansa and into the garage where the Outlaws practiced.

Arya opened her guitar case and retrieved her beautiful, black guitar.

She sighed as she saw how pretty the light fell on the shining instrument but before she could play it Gendry had already snatched it from her hands.

He put it on his lap and started tuning it for her.

"I'm pretty sure I know how to tune my own guitar" she told him like she did every single rehearsal but Gendry pretended he hadn't heard her.

"Stupid Bull" she muttered and she went back to setting up their equipment: the microphone and all the amplifiers.

Hot Pie was already sitting behind his drums and playing with his drumsticks while Jeyne was sitting on a stool with her legs crossed and a patient smile on her face.

"Are you finally done?" Arya asked and Gendry stood up from his chair while he held her guitar just out of her reach and looked at her with a cheeky smile.

Arya let out a tired sigh and started punching his stomach with her fast but tiny fists.

Gendry just laughed, ruffled her hair and handed her back the guitar.

"You're so annoying" Arya said sighing.

"Love you too" Gendry said and he pressed a quick kiss on her cheek.

A blush spread over Arya's face.

Did that just happen?

She concentrated on her guitar and pretended she was making sure he had tuned it right but in reality she was just trying to hide her blush from Jeyne and the others.

Gendry had been one of her best friends for a long time now but lately he was acting extra... friendly.

She didn't know how to respond to it honestly so most of the time she just ignored it or called him "Stupid Bull" again.

"Do you wanna start?" Gendry asked her and she nodded.

Hot Pie counted down and they started playing "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" one of the Brotherhood's most famous songs but possibly not their best.

Arya started singing but it didn't last long before Gendry started laughing and Hot Pie too.

She turned red again and punched Gendry's arm.

"Don't laugh at me!" she shouted "I told you I suck at singing"

"I can't help it" Gendry said still laughing, apparently he had barely felt her punch, "it's not just the singing but it's also the stupid face you pull every time you start doing it"

Gendry tried to imitate her by pulling a very unattractive face and she punched him again but harder this time.

"Stop making fun of me" she said flicking her long fringe out of her eyes "I'm trying"

"Sorry, Arry" he said and this time he seemed to mean it.

"Jeyne, do you want to give it a try?" Hot Pie asked from behind the drums.

Jeyne's face turned bright red.

"I don't know..." she started but Arya had already dragged her to the microphone.

"You know the song, right?" Gendry asked her.

Jeyne nodded while she looked at the microphone as if it was going to bite her.

"Then there's nothing to worry about" Gendry said with a kind smile "I mean, you can't be worse than Arya"

She punched him one last time and by now he should be starting to bruise.

Hot Pie counted down again and Jeyne sang softly at first but not bad at all.

When they reached the chorus she closed her eyes and sang harder until the band became an unity.

It actually sounded really good and they practiced more and more songs with Jeyne.

Luckily she knew most of the lyrics and once you got to know her she wasn't even that shy at all.

The time flew by and before they knew it they had been playing for four hours.

They were just about to play "the Rains of Castamere" when Catelyn Stark opened the garage door.

She looked furious and she had crossed her arms in front of her chest as she entered the garage.

"Arya Stark, you have been playing this ungodly loud music for hours now and if you do not immediately stop you won't be allowed to play your guitar for another month!" her mother said.

Arya turned red again.

"It's just music" Arya said "let us play for another while it's finally starting to sound good!"

"Arya, this is not a negotiation" her mother said with that same angry expression on her face "put your guitar away"

Arya couldn't believe her mother was embarrassing her in front of her friends like this especially not in front of Gendry.

"Just one song!" she begged.

"Arya, enough is enough!"

They were both almost shouting now and the Outlaws awkwardly wondered when it would be appropriate to leave.

"Dad wouldn't have mind" Arya said while tears burned in her eyes.

Why did her mother have to ruin it like this?

Music and her friend were all she had now her father had left for King's Landing.

Winterfell just didn't feel like home anymore.

"Arya, you're grounded" Cat said with tears in her eyes "go to your room NOW!"


	4. Chapter 4

Day 4: Surprises on the road

**Theon**

Theon was spending his Saturday afternoon at Winterfell as usual.

Robb wasn't home because he had gone with Ned to Robert's company but Theon didn't mind.

Jeyne and Sansa were doing their homework at the dining table and he was doing his best to look down Jeyne's shirt when she bended over to pick up her pencil from the ground.

Kyra was sitting on a countertop next to him and talking about cheerleading tryouts.

He wasn't really listening though.

Theon was starting to get bored of her and he hated it whenever she asked him to meet his parents.

He had never brought a girl home before and even Robb had been there only once.

They couldn't have been much older than eight and eventually Balon had chased them out of the house because they were too loud.

He hadn't bothered to show anyone his house from that day on.

Even his birthday parties had been at Winterfell and not his own house.

His father believed that throwing parties for his children would only spoil them.

"Are you listening?" Kyra asked with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Yeah, sure" he just answered but he hadn't of course.

She grabbed his arm one more time and put her head on his shoulder.

"Kiss me" she said begging and Theon had to use every bit of self-control he had to not push her away.

He gave her a kiss nevertheless and she looked at him pouting and begging for more.

He shot a quick look at Jeyne who was pretending she hadn't seen him kiss Kyra.

"Let's go" he said and he jumped up from the countertop.

He hadn't noticed that Kyra was still holding his arm and she almost fell off the countertop because of his sudden movement.

He helped the short girl getting down from the countertop and she grabbed his arm again.

"Where are you going?" Sansa asked him when she looked up from her textbook.

"Out" he said shrugging.

"Good" Sansa said smiling "because Margaery and Cersei are going to be here soon"

He rolled her eyes at her and he finally shook Kyra off in the most subtle way he could.

He was sure he was going to have leech marks on his arm in a few hours.

"Can you get my coat?" he asked Kyra who gave him a slightly offended look.

"Fine" she said and before she left she looked at Jeyne one more time with a jealous expression on her face.

He sat down next to Jeyne when he knew that Kyra would be out of earshot.

"What are you doing?" he asked the girl and a blush spread over her face.

She immediately covered her drawing with her hand and smiled at him shyly.

"Math" she answered and he laughed at her.

Softly he took her hand to move it from the drawing but when he touched her soft, precious skin something happened.

For the first time in his entire life Theon was the one to blush and they looked at each other blushing for a few minutes while holding each other's hand.

She looked at him with big, brown eyes and for the first time in his entire life he didn't know what to say.

No clever pick up lines, no sexy comments, nothing.

"Theon!" a shrill voiced shouted.

He quickly let go of Jeyne's hand and that way he would never know that it was his smile she had drawn.

He got up from his chair and rushed to Kyra.

"Let's go" he said one more time while he put an arm around her shoulder and lead her out of the kitchen.

He felt short of breath and he still couldn't believe what had happened.

Sure he had been thinking of Jeyne more than usual lately but he hadn't thought anything of it or at least not until now.

"Where are we going?" Kyra asked.

"It's a surprise" he answered and he managed to make his usual smile appear on his face again.

He smiled as if the world was a joke and only he was smart enough to figure it out.

When he opened the door he saw Cersei and Margaery stepping out of Cersei's car.

"Look it's the Stark's lackey!" Cersei said with a smirk on her face "ready to hold the door open for us"

"Thank you" Margaery said with a smile as they entered the door and Cersei gave him a few coppers as if he was an actual servant.

In the corner of his eye he saw Robb's car shimmering in the late September sunlight.

"Come on" he said and he walked to the vehicle.

He had had the car key in his pocket for a while now.

He had taken it from the Stark's key bowl as simple as that.

"So exciting" Kyra gasped and she kissed him on the cheek.

Theon just hoped nothing would go wrong but at that moment he didn't really care and got in the car anyway.

**Sansa**

Sansa, Margaery, Cersei and Jeyne were sitting in her bedroom.

Sansa's room was a large, white room filled with furniture decorated with lace and pearls.

On the walls were pictures of flowers and butterflies and every inch of her bedroom was filled with girly stuff.

Sansa and Cersei were sitting on her large bed and Margaery and Jeyne were sitting on a mountain of pillows on the floor.

In front of Sansa was a little tray with a tea pot and some cookies and the huge pile of magazines Cersei had brought.

Even Sansa had not been able to comprehend how much work it actually took to plan a party according to Cersei and Margaery's standards.

"So we have prepared a few things for you to chose from" Cersei said showing Sansa different pictures of flowers and other decorations.

"Just a few options" Margaery said smiling.

Sansa couldn't believe they were so nice to her.

Jeyne, Arya and her brothers had always said that she shouldn't trust Margaery or Cersei but she didn't see why.

They were just trying to help her plan her party, what could be wrong about that?

"Just tell me what flowers you like and believe me we can arrange it" Margaery said laughing.

She knew that Margaery and her family had always had private gardens in which they grew the most beautiful and exotic flowers.

"I like winter roses" Sansa said looking at a specific bouquet of pale blue roses.

"A true Stark" Cersei said with a hint of a smile on her face as she marked the bouquet of flowers.

"What about the food?" Margaery asked showing some more pictures to Sansa.

"Cupcakes, right?" Jeyne suddenly asked and for a moment Sansa had forgotten that she was there too.

Margaery flipped though the pictures while shaking her head.

"I don't think we've got cupcakes but if you really want them.." Margaery started but Sansa quickly stopped her.

"No, that's all right" Sansa said with a kind smile "it was just an idea Jeyne and I had but it's nothing that can't be changed"

Margaery and Cersei had already done so much for her, she didn't want to put them through more trouble.

"We've got a lovely cake with strawberries tough" Cersei said after Margaery had handed her the pictures.

"Sansa likes lemon cakes" Jeyne said quickly.

Sansa was starting to get annoyed now.

Why did Jeyne keep interrupting Cersei and Margaery?

They knew much more about throwing amazing parties than she did for sure.

"Have we got a cake with lemon flavor?" Margaery asked Cersei but she shook her head.

"I'm afraid not" the blonde answered.

"Strawberries are fine too" Sansa said quickly.

She was sure that Jeyne was starting to annoy Margaery and Cersei too.

Why was she even here if she wasn't going to be helpful at all?

"It's your party so if you want lemon cakes.." Jeyne started but Sansa interrupted her.

"Jeyne, will you be a dear and get us some more tea?" she asked the girl.

A shocked expression appeared on Jeyne's face but she left the room nevertheless.

Sansa promised herself to make it up to Jeyne afterwards but now she had to focus on her party.

"So who is your date going to be?" Margaery asked after she had joined them on the bed.

A blush spread over Sansa's face and she shrugged.

"I'm not sure" she said and suddenly she felt very shy.

"Do you know Joffrey?" Cersei asked Sansa with an almost kind smile.

Joffrey was Cersei's cousin... or nephew?

Sansa wasn't really sure about it to be honest.

The Lannisters could be a bit vague about stuff like that sometimes but she knew Joffrey nevertheless.

How could she not know Joffrey?

Sansa was positive that he was the most handsome boy in their school.

With his golden curls and his bright green eyes.

Sansa let out a sigh and she imagined his lips and what it must be like to kiss him.

She had liked Joffrey from the moment she saw him and he was part of the reason why she had wanted Cersei to come to her party.

"I'm sure that he would love to be your date" Cersei said and a huge smile spread over Sansa's face.

"That would be amazing" she said .

**Renly**

Renly was standing in front of a large mirror in his favorite shop and admiring his new shirt.

The shirt was made out of silk and had the same light blue color as his eyes.

Renly buttoned down the grey jacket he was planning on wearing on top of it and adjusted his deep blue tie.

If Stannis was going to make him were a suit to work there was no way in any of the seven hells that it wasn't going to be an expensive one.

He smiled as he ran a hand through his hair and his reflection smiled back at him.

"You look great, professor"

He turned around and noticed Loras Tyrell leaning casually against a pillar.

"Just let me fix that tie for you" he said with that dazzling smile of his.

Loras approached him slowly and fixed his tie while he looked at him with brown eyes through his long lashes.

Renly was sure that his tie had been just fine but he wasn't going to stop Loras though.

"Perfect" Loras said when he was done and he smiled at him.

"Thanks, Loras" he said and he could feel a blush spread over his face.

What was this boy doing to him?

"You know my name!" Loras said surprised.

"Of course" Renly said and he turned even redder while he tried to casually run a hand through his black hair "you know mine too, right?"

"Sure" Loras laughed "it's professor, right?"

Renly looked at him with big eyes for a few second until he realized that Loras had been joking and they both laughed.

"No, I know your name, Renly Baratheon" Loras said.

"Good" he laughed again.

He was starting to feel more and more comfortable around Loras now he was starting to get used to those gorgeous eyes.

He doubted he would ever get really used to them though but at least he wasn't blushing anymore... or at least not as bad as before.

"So are you going to buy the suite?" Loras asked "because there is someone I would love for you to meet actually"

"Yes, I'm going to buy it" he answered smiling and he wondered who Loras was talking about.

Could it be his girlfriend or something?

And why would that be so bad?

Renly changed back into his own clothes behind the red curtain and paid for his suite with his new credit card.

"Let's go" Loras said and he took hold of Renly's hand.

He started blushing again and even worse than before.

Loras lead him through the mall until they reached the nearest Starbucks.

He remembered reading an article about the Tyrell's taking over Starbucks a few months ago and he wondered what else the Tyrell's were buying from the Lannisters.

He could see a girl sitting next to the window with long, flowing brown hair.

She was very beautiful and she waved at them.

So Loras was going to show him his girlfriend after all...

Loras and he entered the shop and Loras immediately greeted the girl with a kiss on each cheek.

"Renly, this is my sister Margaery" Loras said putting an arm around the girl's shoulder.

Renly could definitely see the resemblance between them and he felt stupid for thinking she was his girlfriend.

"Nice to meet you, Renly" the girl said while shaking his hand "Loras has told me all about you"

Renly wondered what Loras could possibly have told her about him but when he saw their kind smiles he didn't believe that it possibly could have been anything bad.

**Tyrion**

Tyrion opened the heavy door of their family mansion.

Casterly Rock had been in their family for generations but years ago, long before Tyrion or even his father had been born, they had rebuilt it into a modern mansion.

Tyrion had seen a few pictures of what it had looked like before and according to him it used to look much better.

He whistled while he strutted through the hallway and he entered the living room.

He hadn't realized that it was already past midnight and his older brother had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the TV that was now broadcasting a cartoon show he remembered watching when he was younger.

The TV cast his bright light on Jaime's face and made it seem almost skull like.

Jaime had been refusing to eat lately and he had lost a lot of weight.

He was heartbroken over his own arm Tyrion guessed.

Tyrion quietly walked to his brother and he picked up the blanket that was lying on the couch because Cersei always got cold.

He put the blanket over his brother's body so he wouldn't get uncomfortable and turned off the TV.

Tyrion decided to get himself a drink and went to the kitchen.

There was a huge smile on his face that just didn't seem to disappear.

He had just returned from his date and somehow it had all gone well.

Very well actually.

She had shown up at the movie theater and immediately greeted him with a kiss on his cheek, he had paid for her ticket and popcorn and she had held his hand during the movie,

he had complimented her and she had laughed at his jokes.

They had done everything normal people did at dates and they had had a lovely time.

He still couldn't believe that she might have actual feelings for him and on top of that he had only been called dwarf by a random stranger twice that night.

The only downside was that he had missed most of the movie since an unnaturally tall person decided to sit in front of him but luckily Shae had been all the distraction he needed.

He walked into the kitchen and he noticed his father sitting on a stool next to the kitchen island.

The man was staring at the clock with a fearsome expression on his face.

Tyrion didn't want to disturb him so he just stood there.

"What are you doing?" he asked eventually.

"Waiting for your sister" his father answered without looking away from the clock.

Tyrion started to smile even more.

Their father was never home much but Tyrion was sure that if he was he wouldn't approve of Cersei's nightlife.

Tyrion didn't mind waiting if it meant that he might get to see his father yell at Cersei.

He grabbed a bottle of beer and sat down next to his father.

They waited in complete silence until the clock struck one and Cersei finally returned.

Tyrion was actually surprised since she never came home before four.

Cersei was blushing when she entered the kitchen but Tyrion knew that was because she was drunk.

"Where have you been?" Tywin asked the girl.

Tyrion smiled at the effort it seemed to take for Cersei to act sober.

"At Margaery's" she said but she couldn't fool Tywin especially not when even her voice sounded drunk.

"You will not lie to me, Cersei" their father said and Cersei turned even redder "you won't go out again without my permission"

"That's not fair!" Cersei shouted and she wobbled on her high heels.

"I will not have my daughter dress like a whore, stay out all night doing whatever with whomever and then come home to lie to my face" Tywin said and Tyrion could see that Cersei was about to cry "you are a Lannister of Casterly Rock and you will behave like one"

Tears were streaming down Cersei's red face when she threw her purse across the kitchen and rushed out of the room while trying to pull her short, red dress down.

She could pull at that dress whatever she wanted but Tywin would never think it was appropriate.

"What are you smiling at?" Tywin asked him now he was done disciplining his daughter.

"Always a pleasure, father" he quickly said and he left the kitchen.

He knew his father was planning on disciplining him too but he didn't feel like it.

He wasn't going to let his perfect night be ruined by something like that.

When he climbed the stairs he noticed that Shae had texted him.

When he opened the text he saw a certain picture that would make his night even better and he thanked the Gods that he wasn't the Lannister son with an useless right arm.

**Jeyne**

Jeyne was standing in front of the glass door of the bar.

She was wearing a black, sparkly dress with lace sleeves and high heels.

Jeyne had put her hair up and Arya had helped her create seductive smokey eyes.

Arya was actually really good at putting on makeup even though she didn't like to admit it.

Jeyne pulled down the short dress one more time and sighed.

"Maybe we should just go home" she said.

She couldn't believe that she had let Margaery talk her into this.

Jeyne had been in Sansa's kitchen when Margaery had climbed down the stairs and greeted her with a smile.

Apparently a little birdie, as Margaery had called it, had told her about Jeyne's crush on Theon and Margaery had told her that there was only one way to win his heart: by making him jealous and that was exactly the reason why she was standing in the front of the bar.

"We're not going home, okay!" Arya said annoyed "I snuck out of the house for you"

"I know" Jeyne sighed and she had to keep herself from biting on her lip again.

She had borrowed some of Sansa's expensive, red lipstick and she wasn't planning on getting it stuck on her teeth.

"No, he is going to think that I'm ugly and stupid" Jeyne said and her breathing started to accelerate.

"You look beautiful and there is no way he is going to think that" Gendry said and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder "now can we please go inside?"

"Fine" Jeyne sighed and a shy smile spread over her face.

"Thank Gods" Arya sighed and she was the first to enter the bar.

Jeyne, Gendry and Hot Pie quickly followed her into the dark room.

It was extremely crowded in the bar and no one even bothered to check their ID's .

There was a big crowd in front of the stage who were jumping and singing along to the music.

Jeyne went to the bar and Arya handed her one of the bottles of beer she had already bought.

"I'm over dressed" Jeyne told Arya when the band had finally stopped playing.

"Don't worry so much" Arya told her with a reassuring smile "it's going to be fine"

The owner of the bar went on stage and thanked the band for playing.

"And now ladies and lords" the man said and the group of girls closest to the stage started to scream.

"Who are they?" Jeyne asked Arya.

"They're called The Bitches of Bolton or The Bastard's Girls" Arya answered "but I wouldn't use the last name if I were you"

Jeyne was starting to get a bad feeling about all of it.

Maybe she should just go home.

Why would he notice her if he had a whole bunch of "Bitches" to chose from?

"How do you know all of that?" Jeyne asked the shorter girl who was already half way through her bottle of beer.

"A girl knows these things" Arya said with a cheeky smile.

Ben Bones, as the owner of the bar called himself, took up the microphone again and continued: "Some call him the Bastard of Bolton.."

"But not to his face!" A girl with red hair shouted.

The girl obviously belonged to The Bitches of Bolton and the others laughed at her joke.

"But he is the one and only Ramsay Bolton! Give it up for Blade!" The owner was shouting now and the whole bar cheered when the band entered the stage.

Jeyne had seen Ramsay before at school.

He was a pale boy with dark hair and his eyes were so blue they seemed to be made out of ice.

They seemed even paler now he had lined his eyes with eyeliner and in his right ear he wore an earring resembling a drop of blood.

He was wearing tight black jeans and a red shirt which was almost completely unbuttoned.

The Bastard's Girls squealed with delight when he entered the stage and Jeyne couldn't blame them.

There was definitely something to Ramsay Bolton and something deep inside of her made her want to find out what.

Jeyne completely missed what Ramsay was telling his audience because she was lost in his eyes but according to the laughter she heard around her it was funny.

The band started playing with Ramsay as their lead guitarist and singer.

Jeyne moved her hips to the loud rock music and it didn't take long before she and Arya and most of the other people were jumping and dancing.

Ramsay's dark lyrics and deep voice enchanted the bar and turned them into one big dancing and screaming crowd.

They took a quick break after three songs and sweat was trickling down Ramsay's torso.

"And this next to song I want to dedicate to a special lady out there" he said and he winked at The Bitches of Bolton even though she believed that he had been looking at her when he spoke the sentence.

The song they played was indeed calmer and more romantic than their other songs even though it contained lyrics like "cutting your sweet skin" and "holding your heart in my hands tonight".

He seemed to smile at her when he sang and she softly moved her hips to the music again while she stared into his eyes.

"Thank you" he said when they finished playing and the Bitches squealed again.

Jeyne wondered if she had just imagine him looking at her or if he had actually noticed her.

"We're going to take a short break" he said and he got down from the stage after having handed Ben Bones his guitar.

The Bitches immediately cornered him and he disappeared into the crowd.

Jeyne was still standing near the bar and wasn't able to see him anymore.

"I'm gonna check on Gendry and Hot Pie" Arya said with a kind smile and she left her alone.

Jeyne ordered another drink and tried to find the courage to walk up to Ramsay.

Just tell him you liked the song.

Just tell him you liked...

"Did you like the song?" a voice asked from behind her.

Jeyne thought she was alone and she let out a loud gasp when the voice startled her.

On top of that she accidently knocked over her drink and spilled wine all over the countertop.

"Fuck me" Jeyne moaned when she saw the mess she made.

"Gladly" Ramsay said laughing.

She giggled at his joke and a blush spread over her face.

"What's your name?" he asked "I haven't seen you here before"

"Jeyne Poole" she said still blushing.

"I'm Ramsay Bolton" he said taking her hand and kissing it "nice to meet you, Jeyne"

Jeyne felt like she could die right there.

He looked at her like no boy had ever done.

He looked at her as if she was pretty and he made her feel like they were the only two people in the crowded room.

"Come on" he said " I'll introduce you to my fanclub"

Apparently he had noticed her distressed face and he laughed.

"Don't worry, they won't bite... hard" he said still laughing and he gently lead her through the crowd while making sure that no one bumped into her.

The Bitches gave her a nasty look when they had finally reached their group and Jeyne noticed that they were all wearing T-shirts with the bands logo on it: A flayed man.

Ramsay put an arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer as the leader of the group inspected her: the girl with the red hair.

"Jeyne" Ramsay said "these are Grey Jeyne, Helicent, Jez, Alison, Maude, Willow, Sara and Red Jeyne"

"Just call me Red" Red Jeyne said with her arms crossed in front of her chest and that same nasty look on her face.

"Nice to meet you all" Jeyne said softly and she felt as if she was going to be eaten alive by these girls any minute now.

"Ramsay, we're going on in five minutes" Ramsay's drummer told him.

Ramsay nodded and the drummer disappeared backstage again.

"Give me a kiss good luck" Ramsay said with a cheeky smile.

"What?" she asked surprised and a blush spread over her face but apparently Ramsay didn't care to wait for an answer.

He put his lips on hers and while a warm and tingly feeling spread through her body he stole her first kiss.

She didn't realize what had happened until he had already disappeared backstage.

"Well I guess he found himself a new toy to play with" Red said.

"Shut your trap and thank your lucky stars that you still get to be his top dog"

Jeyne wished she had said that after seeing the surprised expression on Red's face but it had been Arya.

Red didn't respond but just turned around again.

"Thanks" Jeyne told Arya and she gave her a quick hug.

The shorter girl looked at her with a surprised expression but she didn't push her away.

Blade played four more songs and gave two encores before their gig was finished.

Ramsay thanked the audience and the band got down from the stage again.

Ben Bones was still talking to the audience when Ramsay found her in the crowd.

He had wiped away the eyeliner and finally buttoned up his shirt.

"You wanna go outside?" he asked and she nodded.

He took hold of her hand once more and they left the crowded room.

"I really needed to get some air" he said smiling when they were standing outside of the bar.

It was chilly outside and the wind howled through the deserted street.

It was dark too and the only lights were coming from the stars, the moon, the only not broken streetlight and Ramsay's cigarette.

He quickly smoked some of his cigarette and threw it on the ground again.

"Are you cold?" he asked with a kind smile.

Jeyne nodded and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Come here" he said with a cheeky smile and he kissed her again but longer this time and with tongue.

She felt the butterflies again and she couldn't believe how quickly she was falling for this guy.

She could feel his hand shift from her lower back to her ass and he squeezed.

"Hey!" she said but he just laughed at her.

"You're so pretty" he said and he kissed her one more time.

Suddenly she felt as if it was getting even colder outside and she opened her eyes.

"Snow" she said while the white flakes fell down on them "this early?"

"Winter is Coming, the Starks would say" Ramsay said laughing as he plucked a snowflake from her hair.

Jeyne knew "Winter is Coming" was meant as a warning but where would she be saver than in Ramsay's arms?

...

...  
Theon's?


	5. Chapter 5

Day 5: Looking for Answers

**Cersei**

Cersei checked her elegant watch for what seemed to be the hundredth time that morning yet time seemed to stand still.

She was sitting on one of the uncomfortable benches in The Great Sept of Baelor while the sunlight poured in through the stained glass windows.

The bright light made her head hurt but her father would never allow her to wear sunglasses inside of the sept.

She couldn't believe how he had humiliated her last night in front of her little brother.

She would never forget that evil grin on his little monkey face.

There was honestly no one in the world she hated more than that little creature.

He had killed her beloved mother but he still dared to call himself a Lannister.

She would kill herself if father would ever allow him to work at LannisCorp (but the imp first of course) even if he was just hired to scrub the bathrooms.

Tyrion had even managed to worm his way in between her and her father right now.

She had wanted to sit next to him so he could see what a good daughter she was, so he could see that she knew all the hymns and all the prayers by heart, so he could see that she was actually a worthy Lannister of Casterly Rock.

She checked her watch one more time and repressed the urge to sigh loudly.

Suddenly Jaime bumped into her with his cast.

She clicked her tongue loudly and shot him an annoyed look.

"Sorry" he muttered but she pretended she didn't hear him.

Cersei thought that the cast was already starting to look dirty and she had even refused to write her name on it.

She still couldn't believe that he had gotten hurt.

Jaime was her rock.

The one thing in her life that she always knew she could count on and to see him so weak was just too much to bear.

He couldn't dress himself, he couldn't cut his own meat, he couldn't even defend himself or her if something happened.

He had become depended on others and if he had been a real lion they would have left him somewhere to die.

He bumped into her again and she let out a loud sigh.

"Watch it, cripple" she told him and Jaime turned red.

He wasn't even going to defend himself with words.

If she had said something like that a few weeks ago he would have reacted with the rage of a true lion and put her in her place but he was a shade of that man now.

He bumped into her one more time with the heavy, awkward cast.

"Get away from me, you fucking moron" she told him and she shoved him.

"Cersei" her father said and he shot her an angry look.

She blushed and looked at her hands which she had folded in her lap.

"Thanks" she said to Jaime "now you've gotten me into even more trouble"

"Sorry" Jaime said and she wished he would just stop apologizing.

Usually Cersei and Jaime would spend their time in the sept by making fun of the High Septon and the ridiculous crown he wore.

"I've honestly never seen such a fat man" Jaime whispered to her and a faint smile appeared on her face.

"You're forgetting Robert Baratheon" Cersei whispered back to him and he smiled at her and for a minute he looked like the old Jaime again.

"Be careful what you say, sweet sister, father might still want to marry you off to him" he said with a cheeky smile.

Cersei pulled a disgusted face and Jaime laughed softly.

Her father had once mentioned that that would be the perfect merge between LannisCorp and Baratheon Industries but Cersei thanked the Gods that they didn't live in a time anymore where women could just be married off to someone.

"I'm not going to leave you alone" she told Jaime and he leaned a little closer to her but instead of the warm skin she was expecting his cast bumped into her one more time.

"Disgusting" she said and she moved away from him as far as she could without touching Tyrion.

She shivered and checked her watch one more time.

When would this nightmare end?

**Arya**

Arya was strolling through the city with her hood pulled over her head.

She had snuck out of the house again after having a huge fight with her mother.

Her mother had never hit her before but Arya guessed she had never pushed her that far either.

Apparently her mother had been up all night looking for Arya and calling the whole neighborhood to find out if someone had seen her.

Cat had been sitting on the couch with red eyes and tears on her face when Arya had entered the house.

Her mother had gotten up from the couch, slapped Arya and immediately sent her to her room.

Robb had seen everything but even he didn't stand up for her.

Arya felt like she was suffocating in Winterfell.

She missed her father and the way things used to be when he still came home to have dinner with them, when he would drive them to school in the morning and when he came to her bedroom to check on her before she went to sleep.

Her mother didn't understand her like her father had.

Her mother still bought her lace dresses and sheet music for her violin which she hadn't played in years.

Her father had let her quiet playing violin a long time ago and even bought her a guitar.

Ned had paid for her capoeira lessons, a Brazilian martial art that also uses dance moves.

Arya let out a loud sigh and searched her pockets for cigarettes.

"Damn" she muttered when she couldn't find any.

Jon had probably thrown all of her cigarettes away.

Strangely enough she wasn't mad at him for that.

She was just happy that someone still cared about her.

The Outlaws used to do that until Jeyne came along.

They had been practicing a lot lately and Arya had noticed Gendry looking at Jeyne more and more often.

She didn't blame Jeyne though.

She blamed Gendry that stupid bull and she blamed herself for thinking that he could like her.

He even called her a boy's name for Gods' sake!.

She saw a post office and looked through the shop window.

The lights were still off so she guessed she had to wait until she could buy her cigarettes.

"That post office closed months ago" a rough voice said.

Arya turned around and looked into the disfigured face of Sandor Clegane.

Their student councilor, Petyr Baelish, had told her the story behind Sandor's scars once when he had come over to have dinner with her family.

There was something about Little Finger that made her question his motives and it was probably the fact that he still had a crush on her mother and did little to hide it.

She did believe the story however.

Sandor's brother was a maniac and she could easily see him shove his little brother in the fireplace.

"Here" Sandor said and he handed her a cigarette from his pocket.

"Thanks" she muttered while she lit it and looked at him again.

He was wearing a hoodie just like she was and he was using it to hide his scar.

Unfortunately it wasn't working as well as he probably had intended it on working.

"Where are you going?" he asked her with that same rough voice.

"None of your business" she answered quickly.

"Whatever" Sandor said shrugging and he walked on.

Arya let out a sigh and couldn't believe what she was about to do.

Was she really that lonely and desperate?

Apparently..

"Wait up" she said and she quickly caught up with him.

For a second she thought he had smiled because of that but if he had, he did a very good job to hide it.

Sandor always pretended he didn't mind being lonely but she never bought it.

"Where's Joffrey?" she asked him and he made a sound that could have been a growl.

Most people called Sandor Joffrey's dog and maybe he was.

No one understood the friendship between those two maybe it was because Joffrey needed a bodyguard because of all the people he managed to piss off or maybe it was because Sandor hoped no one would have the guts to bully him if he was friends with the biggest asshole in their school.

"I don't care where Joffrey is" Sandor answered her question "I'm not his friend"

Arya laughed at that and he gave her a strange look.

"Are you really his dog then?" she asked.

She couldn't believe he was pretending that he didn't have anything to do with Joffrey.

Arya knew what they had done to Mycah and she wasn't going to let it go easily.

Sandor had beaten the boy bloody for something he hadn't even done only because Joffrey had told him too.

"Careful now, little girl" Sandor said.

"I know what you did to Mycah" she said "so don't pretend you have nothing to do with Joffrey"

Sandor lit his cigarette and started smoking without reacting to what she had said.

"I never said that I have nothing to do with him" he said eventually and for the first time he made eye contact with her "but I'm about as much his friend as you are"

Arya hadn't been paying attention to where they were going and they ended up at an old building that looked like it hadn't been used in years.

"You live here?" she asked him surprised.

Some roof tiles where missing and they had boarded up the windows.

The paint on the door was peeling off and in front of the house was a pile of refuge bags.

"We can't all live in Winterfell" he said and he used his key to open the old, creaking front door.

Arya was sure that the Cleganes didn't live in something that looked like a squatting house and if Sandor hadn't locked the door immediately after entering she would have followed him.

She promised herself that she was going to come back though to find out what really was going on in that house and what was really going on between Joffrey and Sandor.

**Robb**

Robb was wandering through the streets and looking for his little sister Arya.

She had disappeared at the crack of dawn to avoid a confrontation with their mother.

Robb knew the song and it wasn't the first or last time that Cat had told him to go look for Arya.

He would have used his car to look for his sister if it wasn't for the gigantic dent in the front of it.

He still couldn't believe Theon had taken it for a joyride or well.. actually it wasn't that hard to believe.

Theon somehow always felt the need to show the world how much of a bad guy he really was even though deep down... really deep down... like REALLY deep down he was one of the kindest people Robb knew.

Robb was unbelievably angry at Theon and he hadn't talked to him since he had come home to the crashed car but he also knew he was going to forgive him.

He was his first and best friend after all.

They had met in kindergarten when they were both five years old.

Robb had never found it difficult to make friends but Theon had always been quiet and he kept his distance from the other children.

One day Robb had told his father about the odd quiet boy in his class and about how much the others made fun of him.

Ned had told Robb to give Theon a chance.

"That kid has been through a lot already, more than most could take"his father had said.

It wasn't until years later that Robb learned his father had been talking about the death of Theon's brother and his mother's mental state.

Robb had walked up to him nevertheless during recess when Theon was playing in the sandbox by himself.

"What are you doing?" he had asked him.

"What does it look like? Building a sand castle of course" Theon had answered.

Robb remembered how crooked the castle had looked as if it was going to tumble down any minute.

"Let me help you" Robb had said.

"Why do you wanna help me? It's my castle!"

Robb had laughed at that like only a five year old could have done.

"Because it's fun to build castles, isn't it?"

Apparently Theon couldn't argue with that logic and they had started to build a new castle when it was finished it looked like a proper castle with sturdy walls and a large courtyard.

"So what do we know?" Robb had asked while they admired their work.

"Now comes the fun part!" Theon had answered with a smile that would get him his first girlfriend at the age of six and deflowered at the age of thirteen "we destroy it!"

"What?" Robb had asked surprised.

"And then we build it again.. if you still want to play with me then.. you don't have to if you don't want to of course" Theon had said with a blush on his cheeks "I'm fine on my own"

Robb had shaken his head with a smile.

"No, I like playing with you" He had said and so they had knocked down the sturdy walls with their little shovels while they had laughed loudly.

Theon had come over to Winterfell to play a lot of times but he had only been at Theon's house once.

It was a nice house near the beach but cold somehow.

That day Robb had learned about Theon's family and why he didn't like to show friends his house.

Balon Greyjoy had been in his study when Theon and Robb were playing a video game in the living room.

Theon had been winning and they were both shouting and laughing when Balon stormed out of his study.

"Get. Out. Now!" he had shouted at them.

Theon and Robb had rushed out of the house and there had been tears in Theon's eyes if there was anything Robb had learned about Theon after all those years they had known each other it's that he's terrified of disappointing his family.

Robb always thought that had to do with the fact that he felt like he needed to live up to Maron and Rodrik's reputation or more likely Balon's idolized version of that.

Theon's older sister had followed them outside.

Asha had been twelve at that time and she had looked nothing like she did today.

Her face was full of zits and she wore braces which was something Theon loved to point out to her when he had reached a less adorable age.

Asha had wrapped her arm around her little brother's shoulder and let out a sigh.

"Come on, boys, I'm buying you ice cream" she had said and they had bought ice cream and played on the beach for the rest of the day but Theon had never asked him to come visit his house again and Robb hadn't asked to either.

Robb passed the closed post office and checked his watch.

"Arya, where are you?" he muttered.

He wasn't feeling like looking for his sister all day and besides it had been almost five days since he had spoken to Talisa.

He had tried to call her again but she never picked up her phone.

He was starting to get the feeling that she had just grown tired of him and blocked his number.

Robb dialed her number one more time and promised himself that if she still didn't pick up he was going to stop trying.

"_Hello?"_

It felt like his heart had just skipped a beat.

"Talisa! I didn't think you would actually pick up your phone" he said genuinely surprised.

"_I know, I'm sorry for how I treated you... I just didn't know how to tell you and I needed to know for sure first"_

"Whatever you want to tell me I promise it will be all right" he said with a smile.

He was just so glad to hear her voice again and he couldn't imagine she could say anything to change that.

"_Don't make promises you can't keep" _she said and he could almost hear her sad smile.

"Just tell me, Talisa, I'm there for you"

"_I'm uh... I'm late"_

He didn't understand what she was talking about.

He frowned as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Late for what?" he asked feeling a little bit stupid.

"_You know... late... so I took a test and..."_

Now it felt like his heart had stopped beating all together.

"And?"

"_and you're going to be a father"_

**Daenerys**

Dany was standing in a secondhand bookshop and she was searching the bookcases for a few specific titles.

They had been given to her by an old friend but she had to leave them behind when she returned to Westeros.

She didn't know what made her go look for them in the old bookshop but maybe it was better that she didn't find them.

They would only remind her of her old life even more.

She left the shop again and she spotted Jon across the street.

She hadn't had the chance to talk to him again after they had first met.

"Hey, Jon!" she said and she waved at him.

Jon and the enormous dog he was walking both turned around.

He waved at her and crossed the street.

"Good to see you again, Dany, how have you been?" he asked with a kind smile.

Dany shrugged and smiled at him.

She had been really lonely to be honest.

She felt like she didn't belong in Westeros anymore but she wasn't going to bug him with her problems.

"Who's this?" she asked instead and she petted the white dog.

"His name is Ghost, he's my direwolf" Jon answered proudly.

The dog stayed incredible quiet as she petted him and he seemed to be looking at Jon as if he was asking if they could trust Dany.

"I didn't know that there were still direwolves" she said while Ghost inspected her with his red eyes.

"There are a few left" Jon said.

Ghost seemed to finally have accepted her and he licked her hand while she petted him.

"He likes you" Jon said with a smile.

And do you?

She wanted to ask but she stayed quiet instead.

Daenerys didn't know if she was ready to start dating again but she couldn't deny that Jon was incredibly handsome.

"We're going to the park, would you like to come?" He asked her.

She didn't want to go to her empty home again so she gladly accepted his offer.

"Sure" she said and they went to a small park just outside the city center.

Ghost stayed quiet while he ran around the park chasing squirrels and Dany and Jon sat down on the grass.

"So what do you think of Westeros so far?" Jon asked her while Ghost accidently knocked over a small child.

She shrugged again.

"It's very different from when I was last here" she said with a sad smile.

The last time she had been in Westeros her family had still been together.

"What do you mean?" he asked and he seemed to genuinely not know about her past.

Most people seemed to have forgotten about her family's history and that wasn't a bad thing but if she was going to tell someone about it it might as well be Jon.

"My family owned The Royal Targaryen Enterprise once but my father made some wrong decisions and some wrong friends"

She hadn't thought that she would find it this hard to talk about.

The Royal Targaryen Enterprise had been the biggest oil company in all of Westeros but his father had been in debt to almost every other company including the mafia.

It had driven Aerys crazy and he had started to hide more and more oil drums inside of their house.

They had been in the basement, the attic and some people said they had even been inside of the walls.

_Burn them all _she thought with tears in her eyes.

"And those decisions and friends came to haunt him until he couldn't take it anymore"

No one knew if it had been Aerys who had burned down his own house or if it had been the mafia and some people even said it had been people hired by Baratheon Industries or LannisCorp.

Everything they knew for sure was that Aerys, his wife, her brother and his family had all been inside of the building during the fire.

Viserys and Dany had been at school when it all happened.

"My father died and so did most of my family, only my brother Viserys and I survived so we fled the country"

Jon and she stayed quiet for awhile while she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Dany" he said and he took hold of her hand.

"It's okay" she said shrugging but it really wasn't.

Dany had never had a childhood while she and Viserys moved from one school to another and from one foster family to another.

Her brother had always managed to get into trouble and drag Dany along.

"I know how important family can be" he said "and I know what it feels like when you feel like you don't belong anywhere"

"How do you know I feel like that?" she asked him surprised.

He shrugged and smiled at her.

"A lot has changed since you left and it is never easy to be the new kid at school"

She laughed and tossed her long silver hair.

"Am I that transparent?" she asked smiling.

"Not really" he answered "but I felt like I didn't belong anywhere either and I still do some times... you see my last name is Snow for a reason"

Dany nodded to show him that she understood what he was trying to tell her.

"Well at least we've got each other, right?" she laughed.

He smiled back at her and when she looked into his dark eyes she decided to just go for it.

Dany kissed him.

Quick but sweet and before he could even say anything about it to her she had already gotten up on her feet again.

"See you around, Jon Snow" she said with a wink and she left the speechless boy behind while she went back to her house.

**Theon**

It was well past noon but Theon was still in bed.

The sun tried to peer through the window but was stopped by the thick grey curtains.

Theon was planning on rolling over one more time when he suddenly felt a heavy weight on top of him.

"What the.." he gasped.

"Surprise, little brother, it's your very favoritest sister" Asha said while sitting on top of him and she wrapped her arms around his head in something which could either be an uncomfortable hug or a pro wrestling move

"Goddamned, Asha, get off me" Theon said and he tried to push her away.

Asha pretended to be offended and finally got off him.

"That's no way to welcome your sister" she said with her hands on her hips "Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Whatever, Asha" Theon said and he buried his face in his pillow again.

Asha grabbed his arm and with one firm tug pulled him out of his bed.

"I did not come home from college to see my little brother moping in bed all day" Asha said with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Fine, I'll go take a shower" Theon said when he got up from the floor and walked to the bathroom which was the only room Asha wouldn't follow him into.

After taking a shower and taking care of some other stuff every teenage boy went through he went downstairs.

"Where's dad?" Theon asked Asha when he saw her waiting for him in the hallway.

"At work" she answered shrugging "like usual"

Balon had been spending more and more time at their family company which was called KRAKEN and Theon thought he only went to work because he didn't want to stay home now Asha had gone to college.

His brothers had worked at KRAKEN too when it had been the biggest transport company in the world.

They had transported all kinds of things but mostly oil until one of the ships of the Starks's company (before it had merged with Baratheon Industries) had crashed into Maron and Rodrik's ship.

His brothers had drowned and his father had held a grudge against the Starks ever since.

Balon believed that the Starks had done it on purpose because KRAKEN was more profitable than their company.

Ned Stark however had told him that Maron and Rodrik were sailing on the Stark's trade route and there was nothing the Starks could have done to avoid the crash.

The only thing KRAKEN still transported was fish and they had lost most of their former glory.

"Come on, I made you breakfast" Asha said and Theon followed her into the kitchen where a bowl of cereal was waiting for him.

"Oh My Drowned God, Asha, you can cook?!" he said in the most sarcastic way he could reproduce.

"Haha, very funny" Asha deadpanned while she swatted him on the back of his head.

She said down across from him while he ate his cereal and her expression changed to a more serious one.

"I've visited mom" she said looking at her nails and cleaning them with a butter knife.

Alannys Greyjoy became terribly depressed after the death of his brothers.

Every night she would get up from her bed and search the house while shouting their names.

Eventually they decided to move her to a mental institution not far from his uncle's home.

"She asked for you again" Asha said.

"No, she asked for _baby _Theon" he said while chewing his cereal "she doesn't recognize me"

Asha shot him an accusing look but she didn't talk about their mother again.

"Hey, you wanna do something fun?!" she suddenly asked after he had finished his breakfast.

He shrugged but Asha was already dancing around him and punching him as many times as she could.

"Theon, Theon, Theon, Theon, Theon, Come on fight, Theon, Theon, Theon" she said repeating his name every time she punched him.

"Fine" he sighed "what do you want to do?"

"Oh Theon, Theon, let's shoots some arrows like we used to, come on, Theon, Theon, Theon" she said while she kept punching him and dancing around him.

She was incredibly fast and within a few seconds he would start to bruise.

Theon was used to his sister wanting to playfight with him and when he was younger he would have even engaged but he wasn't feeling like it.

He was still thinking about Robb and about the car.

Robb would probably never trust him again and Theon couldn't blame him.

He had just wanted to show Kyra and the Lannisters and maybe he had even wanted to show himself that he wasn't a Stark.

He wanted to show them that he didn't care and he ended up screwing up big time.

"I don't want to shoot arrows, Asha" he sighed but she only started to punch him harder.

He tried to stop her a few times but she was just too fast for him and she never stayed in the same spot for long.

"Goddamned FINE!" he shouted and she finally stopped hitting him.

"Thank God, I was almost starting to break a sweat... almost"

He followed her to the large balcony where Asha had set up some practice targets for them.

Archery was the only thing he had ever been able to beat Asha at.

"So I've heard you broke up with your girlfriend" Asha said while she drew her bow and loosed an arrow which only missed the target by an inch.

"Kyra?" he asked her while he picked up his bow and slung his quiver over his shoulder.

"So you're calling her girlfriend now? No, I was talking about the one with the beard" Asha said while she watched him draw his bow and easily hit his target.

"I stole his car and wrecked it so I guess you could say that we broke up" he said when it was her time to shoot.

This time she did hit her target.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" Asha asked him laughing "Oh wait, was it that time of the month again when you have to proof that you're a big, bad boy?"

"Shut up, Asha" he said while he quickly shot three arrows into the board.

He loaded his bow again and realized it had not been a bad idea of Asha to shoot some arrows.

It was actually calming him down and it helped him clear his head.

"I'm just sick of people calling me the Stark's servant or when they treat me like they can walk all over me" Theon said "I'm Ironborn and not a Stark"

He noticed that Asha had stopped shooting arrows and was looking at him.

"I know you've never felt like you're a part of this family especially not after what happened to Rodrik and Maron but you really are Theon" she said with a kind smile "you don't have to proof yourself"

Theon loosed the last arrow in his quiver and put his bow back down again.

"I have to proof myself to dad" he said.

Asha let out a sigh and put her bow down too.

"You might not be as Ironborn as I am but you're still a Greyjoy so get that grim Stark look off your face and loosen up" she said smiling.

"Thanks, Asha" he said.

She gave him a bright smile he knew and recognized.

"You need a hug" she said.

Theon swallowed thickly and started backing up.

"No, I don't" he said.

"Yes, you need a hug" she said laughing and she ran towards him.

Asha jumped on top of him and hugged him so tightly he thought he was going to suffocate.

"Asha, you're killing me" he said gasping for air.

"Love you too, bro, love you too"


	6. Chapter 6

Day 6: Love Hurts

**Renly**

It was still early when Renly entered his classroom.

He was wearing the suite he had bought on Saturday and Stannis seemed to approve of it for as much as Stannis ever approved of anything.

Renly put some paper on each of the empty drawing tables and some paint.

He wanted his lessons to go as smoothly as possible and he promised himself that this time he wouldn't get distracted by Loras even though he loved to get distracted by the boy.

Renly had known that he was... different for a long time now but he had never acted on it.

He didn't think his family would understand and he was afraid of their reaction.

He hated it when Robert asked him about girls which usually resulted into his brother telling a too detailed story about how he had "made the eight".

Even if his family would understand Renly still couldn't act on his feelings for Loras.

He was only two years older but he was still Loras's teacher and he didn't want to get them into trouble but like usual this only made the idea more appealing.

He had even dreamed of the boy.

Suddenly he heard someone knock on the door and Loras entered the classroom looking as beautiful as he had done in his dream.

Renly knew that he had to be as distant as possible so Loras wouldn't get the wrong idea of him.

"Professor, I was wondering if you could help me with something?" Loras asked him with a shy smile.

"Sure" Renly nodded and he told himself once more to be distant.

Loras put his drawing on Renly's desk.

"What do I need to help you with?" Renly asked him while he walked to the desk.

"It's just I can't... I can't get the colors right" Loras answered while he picked the drawing up again and looked at it with a frown on his face.

Renly approached him and gently took the drawing from his hands.

When he looked at it he noticed however that the paper was empty.

"Wha..." he started when he looked up from the "drawing" but before he could finish Loras kissed him.

The warm feeling he had felt whenever Loras had just looked at him consumed him now.

Loras seemed to be the only thing in the world while the boy softly bit his lip in-between kisses and they seemed to melt into each other.

Loras pushed him against his desk and in the distance he could hear something falling of it but he didn't care.

Loras's lips moved to his neck while he unbuttoned his shirt.

"Maybe we shouldn't..." Renly said but he said it too softly and he didn't want to stop either.

Loras left a trail of kisses across his torso until he reached his bellybutton and got onto his knees.

Loras unzipped his pants and every part of Renly's body was ready for what was about to come but not for the school bell that choose to rang on that very movement.

"Seven Hells" Renly cursed loudly while Loras got back onto his feet.

"We'll finish this later" Loras said and he gave him one more kiss.

Renly moaned when the younger boy moved away again and he quickly buttoned up his shirt.

"I don't want to wait" Renly said slightly out of breath.

"Me neither" Loras said shaking his head.

The door opened and Daenerys Targaryen entered the classroom while Loras and Renly pretended to be looking at Loras's "drawing".

"I think the colour is just right actually" Renly said whit a serious expression on his face.

"Really? Do you enjoy it?" Loras asked with a cheeky smile.

Renly let out a nervous laugh and turned red again and he didn't know how the hells he was supposed to teach a class right now.

Loras sat down in his usual seat at the front of the classroom but every time Renly looked at him he could feel his urge grow.

He already knew that it was going to be a terribly long day.

**Theon**

Theon was standing by his locker and rummaging through the pile of books and forgotten lunches.

For the first time in a long while he had to take the bus to school.

Robb and he always went to school together and Ned would drop them off but Theon hadn't spoken Robb since the accident.

Taking the school bus had made him realize how lonely he was without Robb and he had been forced to sit all by himself on a suspiciously sticky seat.

He sighed while he made another attempt at finding his books.

The school doors opened and some precious sun light shone into the hallway but it wasn't the light that had grabbed his attention.

The students around him seemed to have stopped talking to each other and there was a strange silence that seemed to be full of admiration.

He turned around too to see what they were all staring at and saw a girl that could have walked straight out of one of his more private dreams.

Jeyne was wearing red shorts, a black see-through blouse which exposed her lace bra, a pair of killer heels and seductive dark eye makeup.

She had straightened her hair and her lips were as red as blood.

Jeyne seemed to approach him in slow motion while she moved her hips in a seductive rhythm.

She winked at him when she passed him and walked straight into the arms of Ramsay Bolton.

Theon cursed under his breath when he saw Ramsay Bolton press his fat lips on Jeyne's.

Ramsay's hand was on Jeyne's ass but she didn't seem to mind as she giggled about something he had said.

She looked over her shoulder for a second and smiled at Theon but Ramsay already dragged her away from him before he could say something to her.

Jeyne didn't seem to mind though.

She even seemed to enjoy it.

Theon was starting to feel sick and he didn't even bother to look for his books anymore.

"They're like the cutest thing together, don't you think?" Kyra asked who apparently had walked up to him when he had been looking at Jeyne.

"What?" he asked the girl surprised.

"They're so cute together, aren't they?" Kyra asked while she took hold of his arm again.

"Stop FUCKING touching me!" he shouted and he pushed her off him "and fucking leave me alone, Kyra"

There were tears in the girl's eyes but he honestly didn't care.

He had to worry about Jeyne now who somehow had ended up with Ramsay Bolton.

"You're the worst, Theon Greyjoy!" Kyra shouted and she slapped him.

He didn't even respond to that and left her behind.

Theon quickly went to Robb's locker and he hoped that he would still catch him before he went to the cafeteria to have his lunch.

Robb was indeed still at his locker but he was looking at his phone instead with a frown on his face.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Theon asked.

"Sure" Robb said but he didn't take his eyes off his phone.

Theon slammed Robb's locker shut and he finally looked up from his phone.

"What is it, Theon? Come to apologize?" Robb asked while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"No, this is about Jeyne" he started but Robb interrupted him.

"So you're not going to apologize?"

Theon let out a sigh and was starting to get annoyed.

"Can you stop being a douche for one second?" Theon asked sighing "This is important"

"Okay, I think we're done here" Robb said and he walked away from Theon.

Theon quickly rushed after him and grabbed his arm.

"Listen, to me! Jeyne is dating Ramsay Fucking Bolton!" he almost shouted and he didn't get why no one was taking this as serious as he was.

Robb let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"So? She can date whomever she wants to"

"Ramsay is a psychopath who attacked me with a pair of scissors once!" Theon said trying to bring Robb to his senses.

"He did that in first grade with a pair of BLUNT scissors and only because you called him a bastard" Robb said who still seemed unimpressed.

Theon just needed Robb to understand that Ramsay was going to hurt Jeyne.

He knew that Robb was angry with him but Jeyne could not become the victim of circumstance.

"Well he is.. he is... he is a PLAYER!" Theon shouted and he was glad that he had finally found another reason why she shouldn't date him.

"Oh REALLY?" Robb asked laughing "I bet you can't even name a single girl in this hallway you haven't screwed over"

Theon scanned the hallway and cursed under his breath once more.

He had really messed with a lot of girls at their school.

"Jeyne Farman!" he said when he saw the girl munching down a chocolate bar.

"Fat Jeyne Farman?" Robb asked sighing "Maybe you just don't want our Jeyne to date Ramsay because you're jealous"

Theon let out a nervous laugh and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't like her like that, I just want to protect her" he said.

Robb shook his head and he seemed to grow more distant every second.

"She has had a crush on you for ages but you never noticed her and now she's finally happy with someone and you have to ruin it for her"

Theon shook his head and he was starting to panic even more.

"I know you hate me right now but, please, will you help me look out for her? I would do the same if it were Arya!"

Robb blushed and tugged at his sleeves.

"Fine" he sighed "I guess I wouldn't want him to date Arya either"

"Thanks, bro" Theon said with his usual smile but Robb just shook his head and walked away.

Theon couldn't concentrate on the lessons for the rest of the day.

Everywhere he looked he seemed to see Jeyne and Ramsay or else he heard people talking about them.

In the end he couldn't take it any longer and he waited for Jeyne outside of the school.

She winked at him again and wanted to walk to the parking lot but he stopped her.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked and he tried to seem casual.

"Sure" she said shrugging "I have to wait until Ramsay's class is over anyway"

He sighed and just hoped he wouldn't offend her.

"That was actually what I wanted to talk to you about" he said "are you sure you want to be dating him?"

He immediately saw that that had been the wrong thing to say and Jeyne looked at him with an angry expression on her pretty little face.

"What do you mean?" she asked him while she crossed her arms in front of her chest just like Robb had done.

"Well he is not a nice guy" Theon said laughing nervously "and I think you deserve better"

She laughed bitterly at that which didn't suite the sweet girl.

"And what do I deserve? You?!" she asked aggressively "Because you're not exactly a nice guy either, Theon Greyjoy! Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"It's not that I'm not happy for you, Jeyne, it's just..!" he started but someone interrupted him.

Ramsay walked through the school door and put his arm around Jeyne's shoulder.

"What's the problem, babe?" Ramsay asked Jeyne while he looked at Theon with narrowed, pale eyes.

Theon was a bit taller than Ramsay and he might be able to take him in a fight if he wasn't so certain that Ramsay would pull a knife on him.

"Nothing" Jeyne said and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Ramsay wiped the tear away and kissed her cheek gently.

"Did he make you cry?" he asked her and she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it" Jeyne said and she kissed Ramsay.

Theon was starting to feel sick again and he looked away.

"Jeyne, go wait in the car for me, okay?" Ramsay told her and she walked away.

Ramsay looked him over a few times before he spook again.

"If you ever even talk to her again, Theon Greyjoy, I will make your life a living hell" Ramsay said surprisingly calm and with a smile on his face "Because I don't really like it when other people mess with my things"

"She's not your property" Theon said clenching his fists.

Ramsay laughed at that and Theon could see a knife flicker in his hands.

"Well she sure as hell ain't yours, Squid-boy, not anymore"

**Jon**

Jon was in the AV room and working on one of their personal projects.

Pyp had come up with the idea to make a website just like facebook but exclusively for students in their school.

They had just finished the prototype and Jon was testing if it was easy enough to create a profile.

Pyp and Grenn were in the studio recording their stop motion video and Sam had already gone home so his mind was free to wonder off.

He was thinking about Dany and the kiss they had shared in the park.

He did like her of course but he was already dating Ygritte.

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

What was he supposed to do now?  
"You spelled my name wrong"

Jon turned around and saw Dany Targaryen leaning against the doorpost.

"It's Daenerys and not Danerys, you missed an e" she said while she sat down next to him.

He looked at his screen again and he had indeed filled out her information without noticing.

"Here, I'll do it" she said and she winked at him.

She rolled up her sleeves and started correcting a few of the things he had filled out for her.

"What's that?" Jon asked surprised when he saw the scars on her wrist.

"Nothings" she said quickly and she covered her wrists again.

"Did you do that to yourself?" he asked while he gently took hold of her arm and inspected the scars.

Dany shook her head and he saw tears in her eyes.

"My.. uh...my brother was very hot-tempered" she said without looking at him.

"Where is he now?" he asked her.

Dany had already told him that she and her brother Viserys had fled the country together and that he had often gotten her into trouble but if Viserys was still hurting Daenerys they would have to find help.

"My brother died" she said quietly "That's one of the reasons why I came back"

"I'm so sorry, Dany" he said.

She gave him a sad smile.

"That's okay, Viserys could be an asshole sometimes but at the end of the day he was my brother and I loved him"

He took hold of her hand and she smiled at him again.

"You're really sweet, Jon" she said.

"Dany, there is something I have to tell you..." he started.

Daenerys deserved to know that he was already in a relationship but he didn't want to lose her.

He really liked their friendship and the mysterious girl.

There was so much to her and he wanted to find out everything there was to know about her.

She was the opposite of Ygritte who was as much of an open book as possible.

"I already know, Jon" Dany said "you have a girlfriend and I'm really sorry I kissed you"

She bit her lip and looked at her hand which he was still holding.

"I'm sorry too" he said "I hope we can still be friends"

She laughed and flicked her long silver hair.

"Of course, Jon" she said smiling "I hope it didn't bother you too much"

"Of course not" he laughed and a blush spread over his pale cheeks.

She giggled and moved a little closer to him.

He knew he had to stop her but he couldn't say no to those lilac eyes.

"He is cute, isn't he?" a voice asked.

They turned around and saw Ygritte standing in the doorway with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"That's my boyfriend you're getting comfortable with" Ygritte said with an angry expression on her face.

Jon knew that Ygritte's character was as fiery as her hair and he didn't want her to start a fight with Daenerys.

They hadn't done anything wrong either except from their kiss in the park which was a misunderstanding.

"We're not getting comfortable" Dany said while crossing her arms in front of her chest "we're just friends who are hanging out together"

Ygritte laughed bitterly at that and flicked her red hair.

"Well whatever you were doing it's over now" Ygritte said.

"You don't get to decide what I do or not do" the other girl said while she got up from her chair "I am Daenerys Targaryen and I do not take orders from anyone"

Ygritte's face turned as red as her hair.

"I don't fucking care who you are because, where I'm from we don't give shit about last names or if you happen to be born into a rich family or not" Ygritte said while she slowly approached Dany "You know why? Because we fight our battles straight and honest: with our fist and occasionally our teeth so if you wanna push me, go ahead!"

"You'll be surprised, girl, I've happen to be pretty good at fighting battles"

Jon got up from his chair too and got in-between Dany and Ygritte.

"Don't fight, okay!" he said "Dany and I are just friends, Ygritte, you really don't have to worry about it"

Ygritte looked at him with narrowed eyes for a few seconds but her facial expression soon softened.

"Promise?" she asked eventually.

"I promise" he said nodding.

Ygritte let out a sigh.

"Fine" she said and she gave him a quick kiss "Let's go then"

**Tyrion**

Tyrion closed the door behind Shae and himself and locked them into the bedroom.

Shae let out a sigh while she sat down on his bed.

"What is with the lock and all the secrecy?" she asked him "I'm starting to think that you're ashamed of me"

Tyrion stood in front of her and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm not ashamed of you" he sighed "I just don't want my sister to hurt you"

Shae laughed bitterly at that.

"Do you think I can't defend myself against her?" She asked.

He let out another sigh and wished Shae would just understand what he was trying to say.

Cersei always found new ways to torment him and he didn't want her to fill Shae's head with lies about him.

"Please, don't be like this" he begged her.

"Fine" she said and she gave him a quick kiss "but you are going to have to tell them soon, I am not a secret!"

Apparently she was going to make this hard for him but Shae was worth the trouble in the end.

"Come here, my Giant of Lannister" she said and she pulled him up the bed.

He kissed her while he took one of her small breasts in his hand.

Suddenly they heard someone knock on the door.

"Who's that?" she asked but he didn't want to answer and ignored it.

He kissed her neck and his hand disappeared into her blouse to find the hook of her bra which he knew was in the front.

They heard someone knock again.

"Open the door" Shae told him and she pushed his hand away "or are you afraid that someone will see me?"

He sighed and got up from his bed.

He really hoped it wasn't his sister even though he would enjoy the look on her face when she would find a beautiful girl in his bed.

Tyrion opened the door and found a very annoyed Bronn.

"You call me to bring booze and then you leave me waiting at the door like this!" Bronn said holding the liquor Tyrion had asked him to buy.

"Well I guess that wasn't very thoughtful of me" Tyrion admitted.

"Very thoughtful my ass!" Bronn said while he entered Tyrion's bedroom "This is the last time I'm running errands for you"

Tyrion closed the door again and followed Bronn into the red and gold bedroom.

"Here are some stags for your trouble" Tyrion said while he handed him the coins.

"Well maybe I've changed my mind about the errands" Bronn said laughing while he put the coins in his pockets.

Shae had gotten up from the bed and took the bottle of wine from his hands.

"Good to see you, Bronn" she said "you're the only one he still let's me see"

Tyrion let out a sigh while Shae poured some wine from them.

Tyrion's bedroom was pretty large though not as large as his siblings' rooms.

There was a large window which provided a view of an orchard of which the leaves had turned gold, red and orange.

Tyrion had a large wooden bed with thick, luxurious red sheets.

His desk was filled with piles of books which he couldn't fit into the two large bookcases in his room anymore and there was a large crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

There was a picture of him and Jaime on his desk from when they were both little and his walls were covered with maps of Westeros and the Free Cities.

It was his dream to visit the nine Free Cities when he would finish High School but he doubted Tywin would let him make the trip.

"He shouldn't keep you hidden, Shae, if I had a pretty girl like you I would show you off to the world" Bronn said.

"Thank you" Shae said and they clinked their glasses together.

Tyrion drank some of his wine which tasted a bit sour.

"On whose side are you again, Bronn?" Tyrion asked him but his friend just laughed.

"The winning side" Bronn answered.

Shae, Bronn and he sat down on the soft myrish rug which was embroidered with golden thread.

Shae curled up against him and stroked his golden hair which was never as gold as his siblings'.

"I will tell my family about you tonight" Tyrion said and he finally gave in.

"Thank you" Shae said and she kissed him.

He told himself once more that Shae was worth the trouble he might get himself into.

"Now tell me more about this game you were talking about" Tyrion told Shae.

Shae laughed.

"We only need a candle" she told him with a smile that looked as dangerous as it looked sexy.

"Does this involve me getting my skin burned?" Tyrion asked her.

Bronn and Shae laughed at that and he swallowed thickly.

"Only if you want to win" she answered.

**Sansa**

Sansa, Margaery, Cersei and Jeyne were going to the most expensive shop in their mall to find dresses for her Sweet Sixteen.

Sansa had only been there a few times before.

Her family was wealthy but her parents would never allow her to spend all her money on dresses and shoes even though Sansa would love to do just that.

A man in a bellhop uniform opened the door for them and Sansa's heartbeat accelerated when they entered the shop.

"Okay, girls" Cersei said with a rare smile "I know that all these dresses are tempting but we're looking for Sansa here, okay? So no one gets to buy a dress that's prettier than hers"

Sansa and Margaery laughed at that but Jeyne stayed quiet.

"You're going to look so beautiful" Margaery said and she gave Sansa a quick hug.

"Let's divide and conquer" Cersei added and they split up.

Sansa wandered through some of the lavender and blue dresses and she felt the light fabric.

The fabric felt as delicate and flowing as water as she held it in her hands.

She had always loved clothing and when she was little she had dreamed of becoming a fashion designer.

Her stitches were definitely good enough for it.

The slightly overweight woman behind the counter was looking at them with a frown on her face.

"Girls" she finally said "these dresses are pretty expensive maybe you would like to go to a shop that is more within your... uhm price range"

The woman probably thought they were planning on stealing from the shop.

Sansa couldn't blame her most children could never afford these dresses.

"Excuse me?" Cersei gasped "Do you even know who I am, you ignorant cow? I am Cersei Lannister and my family owns this shopping mall and thousands more all across Westeros and if you try to get rid of me or my friends one more time, I will get rid of you... for good"

The woman was almost in tears now and Margaery tried to calm Cersei down.

"Come on, Cersei, don't make a scene" she said "She didn't recognize you that's all"

Cersei snorted and moved away from Margaery who had tried to wrap an arm around her shoulder.

The manager of the shop came rushing out of her office with a distressed look on her face.

"I am so sorry, Miss Lannister" the woman said "Dorcas, take a break, okay?"

The woman behind the register quickly fled into the office.

"Again, I am very sorry, girls, I'll make sure this won't happen again" the manager said.

Sansa and the manager both knew that Tywin could easily fire the woman or even make the whole shop go bankrupt if Cersei asked him to.

"Would you girls like anything to drink or is there something else I can help you with?" the manager asked.

"No thank you, Jocelyn" Cersei said and she seemed to have calmed down again "We'll be fine"

"I'll be here if you need me, Miss Lannister" Jocelyn said.

Jeyne, who was looking at a clothes rack full of white and grey dresses, gave her a meaningful look.

Sansa was sure that Jeyne was going to complain about Cersei and Margaery's behaviour again.

Sure Cersei could have been a bit more polite but she was a regular at the store and Dorcas should have recognised her.

"Oh My Gods" Cersei said holding a beautiful, low-cut, red gown.

The dress was backless and flowed with every movement Cersei made.

"It's perfect" Margaery said while she touched the fabric "you would look amazing in this, Sansa"

Sansa approached them and took hold of the dress herself.

It was indeed stunning.

"What do you think, Jeyne?" Cersei asked.

"I don't know" Jeyne said frowning.

Margaery and Cersei shared a meaningful look.

Sansa couldn't believe that Jeyne was once again trying to ruin her birthday party for her.

"It's really pretty but... won't it clash with your hair?" Jeyne asked carefully.

Sansa hadn't thought of that.

She didn't want to look like a traffic light.

"I don't think so actually" Cersei said and she held the dress in front of Sansa so she could see what it would look like when she wore it.

"You'll look great" Margaery added "and besides Joffrey likes red"

Sansa blushed a little when she heard his name.

She tried to picture his face when he would see her in that beautiful gown.

"I guess it's just not really to my taste" Jeyne said shrugging.

Sansa let out an annoyed sigh.

"Do you have to bitch about everything?" she asked eventually.

Jeyne turned red and took a step back.

Sansa could see that her words had really hurt her friend but she had deserved it in her opinion.

"Sansa is right besides I don't think that Ramsay Bolton's girlfriend should teach _us_ about taste, don't you?" Cersei added in a cold voice.

Sansa couldn't help but smile at that comment.

Luckily she could still count on Cersei and Margaery to have her back now that Jeyne had deserted her.

"Oh no! Of course we should all swoon over Joffrey Fucking Lannister!" Jeyne suddenly shouted "Or do you get the Hound for free in that deal? Because he isn't worth much when Sandor isn't around to fight his battles for him!"

Sansa didn't know what to say to that.

She hadn't expected Jeyne to react like that.

She had never even seen Jeyne get angry before and she had known her since they were both just babies.

"That's my family you're talking about" Cersei said in an ice cold voice.

Jeyne looked as shocked by her own outburst as they did.

"I'm sorry" she said looking at her feet "maybe it's better if I don't come to your birthday party, Sansa, you don't seem to want me their anyway and I'm not looking for trouble"

Sansa did want Jeyne to come to her birthday but she didn't want her to get into a fight with Cersei and Margaery either.

"Maybe..." Sansa said and she could feel tears burn in her eyes.

She didn't want to fight with Jeyne but she didn't want to lose her new friends either.

"No" Cersei said and she put her hand on Sansa's shoulder "Let her come, Sansa, we won't stoop to her level"

Jeyne took another step back and Sansa wanted to reach out to her but something inside of her stopped her.

"Bring Ramsay too" Margaery said with a smile "should be fun"


	7. Chapter 7

Day 7: Don't ask, don't tell

**Margaery**

Margaery had just returned from school and was combing the tangles out of her long, curly hair.

"So much hair" she sighed while she struggled with a particular nasty tangle.

She put her brush down and inspected her perfect skin in the mirror of her dressing table.

Margaery had never had a zit before in her life and she spent enough money on face cream to make sure it would stay that way.

Someone opened her bedroom door and Loras entered the room.

"Hey, girl" he said carrying a tray with some tea cups on it.

"Oh good, I could use some tea" Margaery said smiling "It's freezing outside"

Loras rolled his eyes at her and put the tray on her dressing table.

"It's still fifty degrees out there so it's far from freezing but yes I'm cold too" Loras said while he sat down on her bed.

"Knight of Summer or what did Catelyn Stark call you again?" Margaery asked laughing.

It had been a particularly cold winter when their school had decided that it would be a great idea to set up a skating rink and donate the profit to charity.

Unfortunately their school hadn't realized that most students didn't even know how to skate since they grew up in the south.

Only the Stark children and some other Northern kids seemed to enjoy it while all the Southern children huddled together and tried to sneak in alcohol.

At one point Loras had been shivering and sneezing so hard Catelyn Stark, who was one of the supervisors, had insisted on driving him and Margaery home while complaining about their light clothing.

"Don't remind me of it" Loras said shivering "you know she still sends me nasal spray on my name day, right?"

Margaery laughed and sipped from the tea he had brought her.

"By the way" she said while raising one perfect eyebrow "you have something to tell me"

Loras blushed and a smile appeared on his face.

"I really like him" he said.

"I knew it" Margaery said laughing "I told you so, I told you so!"

She put her cup down and jumped on the bed next to her brother.

"Tell me all about it!" she said still smiling.

"Well at first I just wanted to have fun, you know? I knew he was gay and I wanted to see if I could make him admit it" Loras said "But now I'm really falling for him"

Margaery gave her brother a hug and they tumbled down on the bed together.

"We have to be careful though" Loras said "He could get fired if someone finds out, sure he's only two years older but you know how Stannis is"

Margaery sighed and played with her brother's curls.

"He's such a sad old man" she said and Loras laughed at that even though it sounded a bit hollow.

"So how is the Sansa thing going?" Loras asked her.

Margaery sighed again.

"I'm starting to regret ever getting involved in this" she said "I feel responsible for her fight with Jeyne"

Loras frowned at that and he snuggled a little closer to her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Cersei is turning Sansa's party into her own and Jeyne was just trying to make her friend realize that but Sansa called her a bitch and well... you can guess the rest"

Loras looked at her with his big brown eyes.

"Dear Margaery, that is not your fault, okay? Sansa is responsible for her own decisions even when she decides to trust that serpent who calls herself Cersei"

"Don't call her a serpent, okay?" Margaery asked with a sad look on her face "Cersei doesn't know better than to be who she is today"

Loras snorted.

"I don't get why you're still defending her" Loras said.

Margaery shrugged.

"I'm the only friend she has even if she doesn't want to admit it" she said "I just hope that whatever it is she has in store for Sansa isn't too bad"

Loras laughed at that but it wasn't a joyful laugh.

"We're talking about Cersei here so you'd better prepare for the worst"

**Jaime**

"Come on, keep going" Jaime said while he and Brienne were doing sit-ups in his garden.

The Lannisters' garden was bigger than a football field and it was next to a forest so there was enough space for them to train without bothering anyone.

When Cersei and he had been younger they had often gone into the forest to explore it and to see who was faster at climbing trees.

They had loved challenging each other like that and Cersei had even beat him a few times until Tywin had found out about it and he had told Cersei that a lady shouldn't play in the forest but concentrate on her studies.

He looked over to Brienne who was still keeping up with him with that stubborn expression of hers on her face.

"Get up" he said and she did as she was told.

She had not complained once about the training being too hard and he had not gone easy on her.

The football team wasn't going to go easy on her either so it was no use to her if he was.

He raced her to the woods and told her to perform some tree pull-ups.

It was the only thing she would obviously beat him at since he couldn't use his right arm anymore.

They were both sweating and he used the time to catch his breath.

He actually enjoyed working out with Brienne because it kept him in shape and it kept him involved with football.

If it wasn't for her he might have never looked at a football again for his entire life.

The tree branch made a horrible crackling noise and Brienne let go of it.

"I'm... not... doing it... anymore" she said breathing heavily while she clutched her sides.

"What?!" he asked surprised "you'll never make the team if you quit now!"

Brienne might be an ugly girl without any hint of grace or elegance but she wasn't a quitter and he wasn't going to allow her to be one.

"I won't make the team anyway so there is no point in training" she said softly.

Jaime would have facepalmed at that if he had still had his right hand to do so but he wasn't looking forward to banging his cast against his forehead.

"I'm a girl remember..." she added with sad blue eyes after she had noticed the disbelieve on his face.

Jaime couldn't believe that the same men who had called Brienne a dude for years (and who had allowed Loras Tyrell to join the team) were now making a fuss about Brienne's gender.

"Don't worry about them, okay?" he asked her "I might not be able to play but I'm still the captain of our football team and I have a say in who makes the cut and who doesn't"

She looked at him with big eyes.

"Would you really put yourself out there for me?" she asked surprised "What if I fuck up?"

"You won't, okay! You're better than half the men on the team" he told her "Don't expect them to be fair but they can't send you a way if you're obviously better than the others and if you keep training you will be"

She blushed and he guessed that she wasn't used to people being kind to her.

To be honest it had felt weird to say those things to her too but he had meant it.

"Let's keep going" he said but then he noticed a girl standing in their kitchen and gesturing to him that he should come closer and he changed his mind.

"Wait here" he told Brienne "there's something I have to take care of, it won't take more than a second"

Jaime jogged to the glass kitchen door and opened it.

"I need the money" Shae said the second after he had entered the room.

"Hello to you too, Shae" he said jokingly and she sighed while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I need the money today, Kingslayer" she said with an annoyed expression that reminded him vaguely of Cersei.

That was their only similarity he could detect though.

Of course Shae was pretty but no girl had ever come close to his sister.

"I've already paid you, Shae" he told her.

"You paid me for ONE date!" she told him while pointing an annoying finger at him "I've gone on many more since then"

He knew he should have never gotten himself into this mess but he had just wanted a little happiness for his little brother.

"You chose to go on those dates yourself and you seemed to enjoy them too" he told her.

She laughed at him and flicked her dark hair.

"That's my job, isn't it?" she asked him "maybe I should just tell Tyrion about what is going on..."

He cursed under his breath and searched his pockets for a few coins.

"Fine" he said eventually and he gave her the money she had been begging for.

"What is going on here?"

Jaime turned around and saw Cersei standing in the doorway.

"Why did you p-..." she started until she widened her green eyes and a smile appeared on her face "Oh... My... Gods! Jaime, I can't believe you actually paid her to go out with Tyrion! That's amazing!"

She started laughing loudly and tears appeared in her eyes.

"Cersei, keep it down, okay?" he said trying to calm her down.

Jaime knew that if Tyrion would find out about what he had done he would never forgive him.

"That's truly cold, Jaime" she said with a hint of admiration in her eyes "Even I would have never done something like that!"

"I didn't mean to hurt him..." he tried but he felt like he was fighting a lost cause.

The door opened again and Tyrion entered the kitchen.

"Shae, I didn't know you were coming over" Tyrion said with a smile on his face and he immediately walked to his pretend girlfriend "what a lovely surprise"

"It's a surprise alright" Cersei said with a smirk on her face.

Tyrion's expression changed as if he had felt that something wasn't right.

"What is going on?" he asked looking from Cersei to Jaime.

"Oh tell him, please!" Cersei said begging and her eyes burned like wildfire "I want to see his face when he finds out!"

He couldn't believe what Cersei was doing to him right now.

She should side with him like he always tried to side with her.

They were twins after all and they were closer than he had ever been with any other person.

"You're evil, sister" he told her and a shocked expression appeared on her face even if it was just for a second.

"I'm evil? You're the one who paid Shae to go out with our beloved brother!" Cersei said and she even had to guts to cover her mouth after saying the last part as if it had been a mistake.

"Oops? Did I just gave the surprise away?" she asked with a fake confused and innocent look on her face and she didn't look anything like the girl that used to race him up and down the beach of Lannisport anymore.

"Is that true?" Tyrion asked Shae.

"Yes, but don't be mad, my Giant of Lannister" Shae said desperately trying to win back his brother's trust.

Jaime had always known that she was a gold-digger but he had never known that she was this desperate.

"Leave..." Tyrion said in a surprisingly calm voice.

"But, my Giant..." Shae tried but Tyrion harshly took hold of her wrist.

As much as Tywin would love to deny that Tyrion was his son he couldn't because his little brother looked at least as dangerous as a lion at that very moment.

"Tyrion, don't hurt her, okay?" Jaime asked trying to prevent his brother from making a huge mistake.

Cersei sighed loudly.

"Don't stop him!" she said annoyed "The girl is a lying, scheming whore and he has every right to be mad at her"

"I'd have to agree with my sweet sister on this one" Tyrion said painfully twisting the girl's wrist.

"I'll leave, I promise!" she said desperately "I'll even pay back the money, just let me go!"

Tyrion didn't let go of her but dragged her all the way to the front door and kicked her out while Cersei laughed loudly

"Tyrion, I can explain..." Jaime started after he had followed him to the hallway but Tyrion flipped him off and climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

"Why weren't you at my side?!" Jaime asked Cersei angrily.

Cersei snorted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You're never around when I need you either" she said and she shot Brienne an angry look who had entered the house after Jaime hadn't returned "instead you're always playing with she-man here"

He shook his head while he looked at his sister.

"You've changed, Cersei" he told her.

Cersei raised one perfect eyebrow and flicked her long, golden hair.

"No, that would be you, sweet brother" she said in a voice as cold as ice "you lost an arm, remember?"

Cersei turned around after she had said that and climbed the stairs to her bedroom too.

It felt like a bigger part than his arm had just left him while Cersei's slender figure disappeared behind the heavy door of her bedroom.

"As you can see there is never a dull moment with the Lannisters" he told Brienne in a tired voice.

She didn't smile at his joke but he hadn't expected her to either.

"I think it's better if I go home" she said carefully.

Jaime nodded and showed Brienne the door.

"Well now truly everyone has left me" he told himself out loud "Now let's find out where Tyrion and Cersei hide their liquor"

**Daenerys**

It was raining heavily and thick raindrops banged against the windows of the penthouse in a soothing rhythm.

"That's one thing I certainly haven't missed" she said sighing.

It almost never rained in the Free Cities but she had liked the heath and the beauty of the deserts as much as she had liked the beaches and the modern cities.

She remembered riding her silver through the deserts with Drogo and the time they spent there together.

"If I look back I am lost" she said softly while biting her lip.

She wouldn't allow herself to cry over Drogo's death again.

She had come to Westeros to restore the glory of her family and she couldn't do that if she was still thinking about all the things she lost along the way.

She closed the book she had been reading and got up from the couch.

She had read the first page over and over again but she still didn't know what it said.

Dany couldn't concentrate on anything right then.

She walked to the kitchen and decided to set the table.

Illyrio would be back with their take out Braavosi any minute now.

She was so lucky Illyrio had wanted to take her in again after she had ran away with Drogo.

It hadn't been her idea at first of course but her brother's.

Viserys had never been able to cope with their family's death.

He was still used to going to a private school and having a different car for every day of the week.

He had never learned what it was like to be like everyone else so he acted like the king of the school wherever they went which always lead to him getting into a fight with multiple people at the same time and being expelled.

Daenerys didn't know who had told him about the Dothraki and their so called gang but once Viserys had decided that he was going to join them it was impossible to make him change his mind.

Joining might not be the right word for it actually, his real plan was to rule them and use them to get back to Westeros.

He hoped that the Dothraki would be able to protect them against the people who had killed their family and who were probably planning on killing them too.

Daenerys had been too afraid to refuse her brother anything so she had followed him out of the house of their legal guardian, Illyrio, and they had gone to the Dothraki.

The Dothraki descended from an old tribe that had had the same name and who had been one of the fiercest warriors of all time.

She had been scared of Drogo the first time she saw him and even more scared when her brother had told her what she had to do with him.

Viserys believed that Drogo would help him in return of her "services" and for a while it had seemed like that.

His tattoos, his long braid with the bells in it, his dark eyes and his rough, strange speech had seemed so scary to her back then but she had soon learned to love him for them and so much more.

Drogo had never done anything to her which she had not wanted him to do.

He had been her first love and for a long time she had felt like he would be the last man she could ever love.

Her hand went to her belly and she felt tears burn in her eyes.

She really shouldn't be thinking of Drogo or her lost son but how could someone forget something like that?

He had been her first and he had saved her from her brother who had left her enough scars to remember him by.

"You have awoken the dragon" he would say and he'd hit her or drive his nails into her flesh until she started to bleed.

Drogo had made her feel save again for the first time since her family had been murdered.

She had never thought that anything could ever hurt him but it had eventually and he had been too stubborn to see a doctor.

The wound had festered and he had passed away.

She had passed out when they told her and because of the shock she hadn't only lost her Drogo that day but also her baby.

She had cried for days until she couldn't cry anymore and eventually the Dothraki had left her behind expect from her closest friends.

Daenerys had never felt so lonely in her live so she had gone to the only person that might still be able to help her: her old teacher.

Jorah Mormont had accepted her with open arms and she had lived with him for a while until she had decided that she wanted to go home.

She wondered if he could ever forgive her for sending him away and if she could ever forgive him for betraying her.

The door opened and Illyro entered the penthouse while carrying their diner.

"Are you alright, princess?" he asked her when he saw the tears on her cheeks.

She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.

"Yeah, sure" she said and she faked a smile.

If I look back I am lost.

**Jeyne**

Jeyne walked up to Ramsay's large house.

Just like the Starks, the Boltons descended from nobility but the Bolton's house seemed to have stayed the same over the years.

The large mansion looked like a castle with high walls and triangular merlons that looked like sharp teeth.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the large wooden door.

She could feel her hear pound and she clenched and unclenched her fists until he finally opened the door for her.

There were butterflies in her stomach and she had never felt so nervous before.

Tonight would be the first time that Ramsay introduced her to his family and everything had to go perfect.

Jeyne had seen Roose Bolton before at Winterfell and he had frightened her with his pale eyes and cold expression.

He always talked softly so you were forced to pay attention to him.

Jeyne remembered that Theon had been making jokes about that and that she had forced herself to laugh at them.

Roose Bolton didn't seem to be the kind of man you should make jokes about.

She knocked on the door and it wasn't long before Ramsay opened it for her.

"Hello, beautiful" Ramsay said when he saw her and he immediately pulled her in a tight embrace and kissed her.

Jeyne noticed that the interior of the Dreadfort, as the castle used to be called, hadn't changed too much either.

There was a red myrish rug on the floor and paintings of men with pale eyes were hanging from the walls.

They had probably been the ancestors of Roose and Ramsay.

It was strangely quiet except for the tall clock which stood on the first floor at the end of the large staircase.

Even though the hall was lit by electric lamps the skeleton hands who used to hold the torches were still there.

They made her shiver especially when she thought about the rumours that said there used to be torture chambers inside of the Dreadfort but even if those rumours were true the rooms wouldn't be there anymore... would they?

"Are you nervous?" he asked smiling and he rested his forehead against hers.

"Yes" she said giggling.

Ramsay was wearing his earring which looked like a drop of blood again and a red chequered shirt which hung unbuttoned over his white t-shirt.

He was wearing dark jeans and there were chains on his belt.

"It will be fine" he said and he lead her to the living room.

Jeyne smoothened down her pleated, black skirt and fixed her shirt.

The shirt was tight and made out of beautiful pale pink lace.

The living room was dim and smoky.

Only a few lights were on and the rest of the light was sufficed by the fireplace which crackled so softly it seemed to be afraid to disturb Roose who was sitting in an comfortable chair across from it.

There was a large TV on the wall just above the fireplace which was playing an old war movie in black and white.

Roose Bolton didn't seem to be watching it though and he had put it on mute.

He had been reading a book but he had put it down when he had heard them enter the room.

He looked at her with his pale eyes and all the paintings seemed to be doing the same thing.

"Dad, this is Jeyne" Ramsay said proudly presenting her.

Roose didn't seem too impressed though and she wondered if it was still an option to make a run for it.

It felt like the man was undressing her with his pale eyes and she wanted to take hold of Ramsay's hand but she didn't want to appear afraid.

"It is nice to meet you, sir" she said sticking out her hand and repressing the urge to call him "My Lord" or something.

He didn't shake her hand though and she put it away again with a blush on her face.

"Poole, right?" he asked in his soft voice and she nodded shyly "your father works for Ned Stark"

She nodded again.

"I basically grew up at Winterfell" she said blushing "Sansa is like a sister to me"

For a second there seemed to be a hint of a smile in Roose Bolton's eyes but it wasn't a joyful one.

"I guess you're almost a Stark then" he said "almost..."

She started to blush again and looked at her feet instead of the man.

She guessed he had decided that she wasn't good enough for Ramsay.

Jeyne had always known that her family wasn't near as rich or powerful as the Starks but it wasn't her fault she wasn't born as Arya.

She wished that Ramsay would put an arm around her or something to show her that he didn't care about his father's opinion but he made no attempt to do anything like that at all.

The door to the living room opened and a fat woman walked into the room with a batch of fresh baked cookies.

She was wearing a pink dress which looked like she was going to rip out off and there was a kind smile on her face.

"Oh there you are, dear!" the woman said when she saw Jeyne "I hope my Roose didn't scare you, he can be a bit grumpy sometimes but deep down he's a big old sweetheart"

She put the cookies on the coffee table in front of Roose and put her hand on his shoulder.

Jeyne couldn't imagine that Roose liked to be called "a big old sweetheart" but after looking at his wife with his cold eyes for a while he decided that it wasn't worth it and took one of her cookies instead.

"I'm Walda by the way" the woman said while taking hold of Jeyne's hand "and you're Jeyne, right? I'm so glad Ramsay has finally found a girlfriend and you're so pretty too! Spin around for me, girl"

Jeyne spun around for Walda who clapped her chubby little hands.

"Oh you're just the cutest little thing, aren't you?" Walda said with a huge smile on her face and she pinched her cheek "I could just eat you!"

Ramsay snorted and the smile on Walda's face disappeared.

She shot him an angry look before returning to Jeyne.

"We were starting to worry about Ramsay with his leather pants and his earring and don't even get me started about the eyeliner!" Walda said before presenting her with a plate full of cookies.

Jeyne thanked her and politely took one of the cookies.

"Here have a few more, dear, you're far too skinny" Walda said while she started to pile up cookies into Jeyne's hands.

"She's going to get fat, you cow!" Ramsay said when Jeyne was struggling to balance the cookies in her overfull hands.

"Ramsay, apologize to Walda" Roose said without looking up from his book.

"But, dad!" Ramsay started.

Roose looked up from his book with a sigh and gave Ramsay a meaningful look.

"Fucking sorry, okay!" Ramsay shouted eventually "Godsdamnit!"

Ramsay stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"Uh... it's been nice to meet you" Jeyne said eventually to break the awkward silence and she put the cookies back onto the plate.

She wanted to walk away but changed her mind, turned around and took one of the cookies.

"Thank you for the cookie" Jeyne said while she awkwardly waved the gingerbread man in Walda's direction.

"You're welcome, dear" she said with a kind smile and Jeyne left the living room.

She nibbled on the gingerbread man while she looked for Ramsay.

She guessed that he had gone back to his room so she climbed the stairs to the first floor.

Jeyne had never been at Ramsay's house before so she had to guess where his bedroom was.

She decided to try the first door to her left and came across a very strange room.

It was a very nice and large bedroom with a golden harp and a bookcase full of poetry and fantasy books she had read too once.

There was a trophy case filled with first place prizes in everything thing that had to do with horses from races to dressage.

It had been a beautiful and cosy bedroom once but now everything was covered in several layers of dust.

"You shouldn't be here" Ramsay said and she quickly turned around.

Ramsay was leaning against the doorpost and she wondered how long he had been there.

"Who lives here?" she asked him.

"My brother used to live her before he died" he said shrugging while he walked up to her.

"I'm sorry" she said softly while she took hold of his hand.

Ramsay shrugged again.

"I only met him once" he said "he visited me when I still lived with my mother and he died not long after that. Roose took me in after the funeral."

_That's horrible, _she wanted to say but she didn't have the guts.

"I'm sorry" she just said again.

"Come on, let's go" Ramsay said with his usual smile "I'll show you my bedroom, it's way cooler and without all the poetry and harp shit"

She forced herself to smile at that and she followed him to his room which was indeed very different from his brother's.

His room was a little bit smaller and there were dirty clothes scattered across the room.

A pizza box with a half eaten pizza was on his desk and a few empty bottles of beer.

The walls were covered with posters of bands, video games and half naked girls in seductive poses.

"What do you think?" he asked "uh... I should have cleaned, right?"

Jeyne laughed at that and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Don't worry" she said smiling.

He kissed her and pulled her onto the bed with him.

Ramsay's hand was on her knee and he moved it up her skirt while he pushed her against the pillows.

She took hold of his hand and gently moved it back to her knee without breaking up their kiss.

This time he moved his hand to her breast and she pushed it away again.

"Ramsay.." she said softly but annoyed.

"Godsdamnit!" he shouted "you're such a little tease, Jeyne!"

She jumped up from the bed and walked to his desk.

"I'm not a tease" she said with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Ramsay got up from the bed too and took hold of her arm.

"You're hurting me!" she shouted when she felt his nails dig into her flesh.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he said eventually and he let go of her.

He smiled again and put his arms around her.

"Don't be mad, beautiful" he said trying to calm her down "I can't help it that I want to be with you, it's a compliment really"

She didn't push him away this time but she wasn't ready to give in either.

"No means no, Ramsay, you have to respect that" she said pouting.

"I'm sorry" he said again and he kissed her forehead "don't be mad!"

Jeyne sighed and she couldn't deny that she liked to be held by him.

"I'm not mad" she said eventually.

He smiled again and opened one of the drawers of his desk.

"I got you something" he said and he handed her a small box.

"A gift?" she asked surprised.

He nodded.

"You can wear them to Sansa's party if you like" he said.

She opened the box and saw two large tear drop earrings made out of real rubies.

"Oh My Gods" she gasped "it's too much, I can't take this!"

"I want you to have them" he said with a sweet smile "and it's rude to turn down a gift, you know?"

Jeyne walked to the large mirror next to the desk and she put the earrings in.

They reflected every single ray of light that touched them and she didn't think someone had ever given her something more beautiful or expensive for that matter.

"Thank you" she said softly while she admired the rubies.

Ramsay walked up to her and put his arms around her from behind.

He kissed her neck and she closed her eyes.

She could feel that he was hard and he moved his hand underneath her skirt again but she didn't stop him this time.

"Please" was the only thing she managed to say "please"

**Arya**

The loud sound of gunshots boomed trough Arya's bedroom while gamers of all nations shouted at each other through her headphones.

While she pressed one button she heard the satisfying *click* of a loaded gun and shot the enemy down without losing more than one bullet.

"_Nice Shot"_ PewDiePyke-fanboy99 said.

"Just cover me, okay?" she asked before she got up from her hiding place and started running.

She could get rid of the first two but before she had reached the third one, one of the snipers gunned her down.

"Godsdamnit!" she shouted and she threw her controller across the room.

She had been playing the same mission over and over again but she hadn't succeeded one time.

Arya laid down onto the bed and shoved the box of "Call of Duty: Clash of Kings" of her bed with her foot.

She let out a sigh and pushed the play button of the stereo on her night stand.

A particularly loud song of the Brotherhood without Banners blasted through her room from all four of her large boxes which were strategically placed in each corner.

Arya got Needle from her pocket and flicked the butterfly knife open.

She made the delicate blade dance in her hands while it reflected the light and seemed to shimmer.

Jon had bought her the butterfly knife for her birthday so she would finally stop borrowing his pocket knife.

She had kept it as sharp as she could and she couldn't wait until the day she could use it to wipe Joffrey Baratheon's smug smile of his face.

The Lannisters basically ran their school: Cersei was Head Cheerleader, Jaime was Captain of the Football team and some asshole had decided to buy Joffrey the position of Class President.

Only Joffrey Lannister could be stupid enough to believe that he was actually chosen to be Class President and that he deserved the title so he spent most of his days bullying other students and threatening to give them detention or expel them if they dared to stand up to him.

Arya was lucky her last name was Stark or she had been expelled a million times already.

Her phone lit up and she read her new message.

"_Are you upset?"_

It was Gendry again so she didn't care to reply.

She was angry with him.

They were supposed to rehearse today but Jeyne couldn't make it because she had to see her boyfriend, which had already annoyed Arya, but to make things even worse Gendry had suddenly told her that he wasn't able to make it either!

She didn't even want to hear his stupid excuses so she had ignored all his calls and texts from that moment on.

Hot Pie and Gendry had grown tired of her and abandoned her just like she had expected them to.

Her father had grown tired of them too which was why she never saw him anymore.

Arya had called him that same day and he had sounded distracted and tired.

He told her that his leg was hurting and that he was swamped with work and he had hung up shortly after that.

He hadn't even asked her about her "dancing lessons" anymore and he never forgot to do that.

She missed her father and she missed the home Winterfell used to be.

Rickon was off to Kindergarten all day, Bran was at his friend Jojen Reed's house, Sansa was at Casterly Rock or Highgarden and Robb had locked himself into his room without any explanation.

The only person she still saw every now and then was Jon but even he seemed distracted now he had gotten a girlfriend.

Her phone lit up again.

"_Why aren't you answering me? I can see that you've read my message -.-"_

"_Leave me alone" _she replied.

"_There you are! Why are you mad at me?!"_

She switched her phone off and buried her face into her pillow.

Arya must have fallen asleep because suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder.

She quickly turned around and flicked her knife open.

"Be careful with that thing!" Jon said laughing.

She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"Sorry" she said and she put the knife away.

Jon passed her the large bag of nachos and searched through her DVD's to find a movie they could watch.

"How's the wife?" Arya asked while she opened the bag and started to wolf down the nachos.

"Well she's not as mad as she was yesterday but... well... she still wants to hit every girl I even as much as glance at" he said while he chose The Hedge Knight Rises, which they had already seen a thousand times, and started the movie.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow! Why are you even glancing at other girls?!" Arya said imitating Ygritte.

"Haha, very funny!" Jon deadpanned but he still couldn't hide his smile completely while he messed up her hair and sat down on the bed next to her.

The movie started but it wasn't long before they got interrupted.

Catelyn opened the door and entered the room.

"Arya, can I talk to you alone for a second?" she asked.

"I didn't do anything!" Arya shouted.

What was she going to get punished for this time?  
"I know you didn't do anything" her mother said sighing "it's about your father"

Jon and Arya exchanged a meaningful look and she took hold of his hand.

"If it's about dad Jon should hear it too" Arya said determined.

"Fine" Cat said with a clenched jaw and she sat down on the bed next to Arya.

The woman folded her hands in her lap and it was obvious that she didn't want to say what she was about to say.

"You're father has been injured" her mother said "he's okay but I'm going to go to King's Landing for a while to help him out"

"What?!" Arya shouted "but then I want to come too!"

"What happened to him?!" Jon shouted at the same time.

Cat ignored Jon like usual and took hold of her daughter's hand.

"You can't come, Arya, you have to go to school" her mother said "Robb will be in charge of things around here and I've asked some of the neighbours to check in on you every once in a while"

Arya shook her head and tears appeared in her eyes.

"So you're going to abandon me too!" Arya shouted and she jumped up from her bed.

"Arya, you're father needs me" Cat said softly.

"Rickon needs you, Bran needs you, I fucking need you!" Arya shouted even louder while tears streamed down her face.

"Arya..." her mother said softly.

"Get out of my room!" she shouted and her mother left with a hurt expression on her face.

Jon tried to give her a hug but she shied away from him.

"I want you to leave too" she said "I want to be alone"

Jon left the room and closed the door behind him leaving her alone.

Arya opened her window and climbed down the wall like Bran had showed her.

She walked to the kennel which was close the forest since her mother didn't like to have the Direwolves near.

The kennel looked more like a large wooden cottage so the wolves would have enough room to move around but Arya still thought it was far too small.

She opened the door and quickly found Nymeria sleeping in the corner of the cottage.

The Direwolf opened her eyes as soon as she saw Arya and the girl rushed to her.

"At least you won't leave me" Arya said and she buried her head in Nymeria's warm fur and cried.


	8. Chapter 8

Day 8: Date Night Wednesday

**Robb**

Robb was standing on the train station while the cold autumn wind tugged at his coat.

He put his collar up and checked his watch.

Talisa and he had decided to meet up just before school so no one would find out.

The train pulled into the station and the doors open with something that sounded like a sigh.

He spotted Talisa in the crowd of people who left the train and quickly walked up to her.

There were tears in her eyes when she saw him and she immediately wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his chest,

"I'm sorry" she said softly when she looked at him again.

"Don't be sorry" he said and he wiped away her tears.

He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips and smiled at her.

"I've missed you" he said.

She gave him a sad smile and she tugged a lock of hair behind her ear.

Talisa took hold of his hand and put it on her stomach.

"So it's really true?" he asked eventually.

She nodded.

"You must hate me" she said shaking her head.

"Why?" he asked surprised.

He didn't think he was even capable of something like that.

"I've ruined your life" she answered "and my own for that matter"

He pressed a kiss on her cheek and looked deep into her eyes.

"It will be fine, I promise" he told her "We'll find a way to make this work"

"But how?" she asked.

Robb ran a hand through his brown curls.

"We'll have to find a way" he said again.

A tear rolled down Talisa's cheek.

"My parents kicked me out" she said "and it's only a matter of time before I have to drop out of college too, how do you plan to fix that?"

He shook his head.

"I don't know" Robb said softly in a voice which was barely louder than a whisper "but at least we have each other"

"At least we have each other" she repeated but it sounded less hopeful.

"You could stay at my house until we find a place of our own" he said.

Talisa laughed bitterly.

"Your mother would like that" she said in a sarcastic voice.

"Or I could use my college fund and we could get a place of our own right away"

Talisa shook her head.

"And after that? Would you go work at a fast-food restaurant for the rest of your life?" she asked him "that's not an option"

He entwined his fingers with hers and to him they seemed to be the only two people at the train station.

"I'll go talk to my mom then" Robb said "I can't think of anything else"

"Me neither" she said softly "but I'm not happy about it"

He rested his forehead against hers while the crowd of people at the train station bumped into them.

"I have to go" Talisa said "I have class in half an hour"

Even though she said that neither of them made an attempt to move.

"I'll miss you" he said.

"I'll miss you too"

**Sansa**

Sansa was wearing a short pink dress Margaery had picked out for her and she had put her auburn hair up.

It had been cold earlier that day but the sky had cleared and now she had chosen to wear a light denim jacket on top of her dress.

Casterly Rock was huge and a lot more modern than Winterfell.

The only original feature of the mansion was the large iron gate with the family crest on it.

There was a little intercom next to the gate and Sansa pressed the button nervously.

She heard a faint buzz and it wasn't long before she heard Cersei say: _"Come in"_

The gates opened and Sansa approached the mansion.

"There you are, little dove!" Cersei said who was standing in the doorway and she kissed her on both cheeks.

Sansa couldn't help but notice that Cersei's breath smelled faintly of alcohol.

The blonde girl was wearing an emerald green dress, which fitted her slim figure perfectly, to match her eyes and her two large diamonds earrings shimmered every time she moved.

"Joffrey has been looking forward to meeting you" Cersei said and she seemed to be in a better mood than usual, maybe the alcohol wasn't so bad afterall.

"I've been really looking forward to this day too" Sansa said and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach.

"Well, come on, what are we waiting for?" Cersei asked laughing and she entered the house.

Casterly Rock looked like a piece of art to Sansa.

The hallway was decorated with large mirrors and windows surrounded by red velvet curtains.

The marble floor had been scrubbed so much Sansa could see her own reflection and from the ceiling hung a large crystal chandelier.

Cersei opened the door to the kitchen for Sansa with the golden doorknob and she entered a modern kitchen which looked barely used.

"Joffrey is in the garden" Cersei said when Sansa followed her into the kitchen.

Margaery was sitting on a tall stool next to the cooking island and she was flipping through a fashion magazine.

"Hello, dear" she said when she noticed Sansa and she gave her a dazzling smile.

Sansa nodded politely and let Cersei guide her through the back door and into the garden.

The garden was in reality an incredibly large field which was situated next to a forest similar to the one in Winterfell expect for the type of trees.

Casterly Rock was near the beach and Sansa could hear the waves crashing into the rocks in the distance.

Joffrey was standing in the middle of the field and he was shooting a target with his crossbow.

"Don't be shy" Cersei said and she linked arms with her.

They walked up to Joffrey who cursed loudly when he missed his target again.

He was wearing a deep red shirt which fitted his body tightly.

"Say hi" Cersei whispered into Sansa's ear.

"H-hello" she said nervously.

Joffrey hadn't heard them approaching him and clumsily released the arrow when she startled him.

"You made me miss" he said angrily and he threw his crossbow onto the ground.

Cersei shot him a meaningful look but made an effort to put on a smile again.

"Joffrey, this is Sansa" she said "the girl I told you about"

Sansa waved awkwardly and she was afraid to breath out.

She had already made the worst first impression possible.

Now he probably thought she was stupid and ugly.

"Sansa? The Stark girl?" Joffrey asked Cersei while he ignored Sansa's existence.

"Yes" she said with another meaningful look "you agreed to go on a date with her, remember?"

Joffrey looked at Sansa for a brief moment and she tried to give him her most beautiful smile.

"I'm busy" he said and he picked up his crossbow again.

"Joffrey, you promised!" Cersei said struggling to stay calm "besides Sansa came all the way from Winterfell for you and look how beautiful she looks today"

Joffrey gave her another look and he shrugged eventually.

"Fine" he said and he dropped his crossbow again.

"Wonderful" Cersei said smiling "I'll leave you two to it then"

Before she left she looked at Joffrey one more time.

"Be nice to Sansa" she said and she went back to the mansion.

Sansa knew that she and Joffrey had gotten off on the wrong foot but that didn't have to mean anything.

She had had a crush on him for years know.

He was their class president and one of the most popular boys in their school which was why she had never had the courage to talk to him before.

He would smile at her sometimes though but now she wondered if he had ever actually noticed her.

It didn't really matter because they were going to go on a date now and it was going to be wonderful.

He would hold her hand and tell her how beautiful she was while they strolled down the beach together and then he would look into her blue eyes and she would stroke his golden curls and then they'd share their first kiss together.

She had imagined that moment a million times before and it had to be perfect.

She wasn't going to let anyone spoil it for her.

"Would you like to go to the beach?" he asked her.

"Y-yeah sure!" she said a little bit too excited.

_Come on, Sansa, calm down_ she thought.

She didn't want to come across as desperate.

He took her hand and they walked to the beach together which was just west from Casterly Rock.

"It must be nice living so close to the beach" she said smiling.

Joffrey shrugged.

"I guess" he said "I wouldn't want to live anywhere else"

"Do you know how to surf?" she asked him.

Sansa and her family had gone on a few beach vacations before and Jon, Theon, Robb and Arya would always try to be the first one to catch a wave while Sansa and Jeyne were just trying to catch a tan.

Usually this would result in her mother chasing everyone with sunscreen until they finally gave in but it was always a lot of fun.

"Do I look like an idiot to you?" he asked her suddenly.

The aggressive question startled Sansa.

"What do you mean?" she asked surprised.

"I am a heir to LannisCorp and you think I'm just going to waste time with surfing?" he asked her.

Sansa didn't know what she should say to that.

She was pretty sure Jaime knew how to surf and she was also pretty sure that he was the real heir to LannisCorp.

"I'm sorry, I guess that was stupid of me" she said softly.

"It was"

The sound of the waves crushing onto the shore filled the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

This wasn't going like she had planned at all.

She had always dreamed of having the perfect life and in her imagination that had contained being popular and dating Joffrey but she was starting to doubt that.

All she could really think about was how lonely she felt without her best friend at her side.

"To be honest when Cersei asked me to go out with you, I didn't really want to" Joffrey said and Sansa could feel her heart sink "but I have to admit that you're very beautiful"

Sansa smiled shyly at Joffrey but she wasn't convinced yet.

"Than-" Sansa started but Joffrey pressed his lips onto hers all of the sudden.

Sansa was so startled she didn't even move until Joffrey pulled away.

"Sorry, I just had to do that" he said with a cheeky smile "you looked so perfect"

A blush spread across Sansa's face and she didn't know what to say.

"I hope you can forgive me" he said with that same smile.

"Of course" Sansa finally managed to say but all she could think of was how their kiss had felt and it had been nothing like she imagined.

Sansa was getting everything she ever wished for but she didn't like it one bit.

**Renly**

Renly was standing in front of Dragonstone which was the name of Stannis' old mansion.

His older brother had never liked the mansion and because he was Stannis he made sure that everyone knew just how much he hated it.

This had made Renly feel guilty at first since Robert had given Storm's End, the mansion they grew up at, to him instead of his older brother Stannis when he moved to King's Landing.

He knocked on the door while using the brass knocker which was shaped like a dragon's mouth and Selyse opened the door not long after that.

Someone knocked into him when the door opened and he didn't have to wonder who it could be.

"Hey, beautiful" he said while he hugged his niece.

"Uncle Renly!" Shireen squealed and she let go of him.

Shireen hadn't always been lucky unfortunately and when she was just a baby she had suffered from greyscale which resulted into half her left cheek and most of her neck being covered in grey and black skin.

Renly thought she was pretty nevertheless even if it was just because of her radiant personality and her beautiful blue eyes.

Shireen was wearing a school uniform and Renly remembered that Stannis decided to enrol her in a private High School so she didn't have to suffer through her father being her principal on top of her facial scars.

This was unusually considerate of Stannis but Renly had to admit that if his brother even had a weak spot it would probably be for Shireen.

"How is school?" he asked the girl.

"So much fun" she said smiling and she jumped up and down a bit "I've made all kinds of new friends!"

"That's great!" Renly said "any boys you like?"

Shireen giggled and immediately started blushing.

"Shireen, don't you have any homework which you still have to finish?" Selyse, who was obviously tired of waiting, asked her daughter.

"No, I've done everything" Shireen said softly.

"Are you sure?" Selyse asked "I want you to go check"

"Fine" Shireen sighed and she ran up the stairs.

Selyse looked him up and down a few times and gave him one of her smiles which didn't look friendly or warm.

"You look good" Selyse said eventually.

"Thank you, Selyse, you too" Renly lied.

Selyse wasn't exactly attractive and she had a larger moustache than most boys in his art class but he had to admit that the new laser hair removal was starting to pay off.

"Let's go to the living room" Selyse said "Stannis is waiting for you"

Renly never liked visiting his older brother because somehow Stannis always managed to make him feel like he had done something wrong.

He followed Selyse into the living room.

There was a small sitting area with two couches and a large bookcase but most of the space was occupied by a large table with a map of Westeros on it.

Melisandre was sitting on the table and she looked at him as if he had just disturbed a private conversation.

"Good to see you, Renly" she said again and the red gemstone in her necklace seemed to glow "we were just talking about you"

Stannis didn't look up from the piece of paper he was reading and he made a vague gesture with his hand telling Renly to sit down.

Renly sat down in the chair but he already didn't like where this was going.

"What's going on?" he asked Stannis but Melisandre answered his question instead.

"The school is in trouble" the red woman said "if we don't raise money soon, the school will have to close at the end of this year"

Renly couldn't believe what she was trying to tell him.

"How could this happen?" he asked his older brother "the wealthiest children in all of Westeros go to your school, Stannis, don't tell me their parents aren't willing to pay for their kid's education!"

Melisandre got up from the table and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"Stannis is doing the best he can under the current circumstances" she said and her eyes seemed to flicker like a flame "you'd better show some respect!"

Renly got up from his chair too and even though Melisandre was tall he was obviously taller.

"Can't my brother talk to me himself?" Renly asked narrowing his blue eyes.

"Stannis is a very busy man and he doesn't have time to concern himself with nonbeliev-..." Melisandre said almost shouting but Stannis interrupted her.

"We can't count on people like Tywin Lannister or Mace Tyrell to help us out" Stannis said looking at Renly for the first time that evening.

"You don't know that" Renly said "I happen to know two of Mace Tyrell's children and I'm sure that he would be more than willing to lend you the money to keep the school open"

Stannis clenched his jaw and gave Renly that same stubborn look he always had when he was about to go through with something stupid.

"I'm not lending money from anyone" Stannis said "I've seen how much trouble that has caused Robert and I won't follow into his footsteps"

"Fine" Renly said before storming out of the room "but know that if the school has to close the blame is all on you"

**Jon**

"_You should come over" _

Jon smiled at the text from Ygritte and quickly replied:

"_I just left, missing me already?" _

He closed the front door behind him and put his leather jacket on the coat rack.

His phone buzzed again.

"_I miss you... and your tongue"_

He chuckled softly and ran a hand through his hair.

Jon climbed the stairs while he texted her a cheeky reply

"Ouch!"

Jon looked up from his phone and noticed that the sound had come from his father and Catelyn's bedroom.

He knocked on the door hesitantly before opening it.

"Is everything alright?" he asked Cat who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

The woman was sucking on the finger which she had just accidently pricked with her needle.

She had put her hair up in a messy bun and there were large bags underneath her eyes.

She was holding a pair of jeans and she had been patching up the knees.

"Yes, I'm fine" she said distracted by her work "I just have to finish this before... uh... before I leave for King's Landing"

She brushed a strand of auburn hair out of her eyes and continued sewing.

"This is the third pair of jeans he has ripped" Cat said softly "It's useless to keep on buying new ones if he is just going to tear them again"

Jon knew that Bran loved climbing and it wasn't unusual for his little brother to come home sweaty and covered in mud.

His clothes suffered heavily from this.

"After this I still have to do the laundry" She said sounding tired "and I promised Bran I would help him with his science project, and Stannis called because Arya has been skipping classes _again_, and the DJ for Sansa's party suddenly wants to be paid beforehand and.. and.. Rickon hasn't been sleeping at all lately and.. and I just can't do this without him!"

Suddenly Catelyn broke down into tears and she was sobbing and shaking heavily.

Jon didn't know what to do.

He wanted nothing more than to leave the room right then but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Cat had never been kind to him but she had raised him nevertheless.

He sat down next to her on the bed and he hesitantly put an arm around her shoulder.

She made a few weak attempts to push him away but it wasn't long before she was crying into his shoulder instead.

The sobbing grew less frequently and eventually she stopped crying at all.

"Arya hates me, you know?" Cat sad when she had finally calmed down.

"She doesn't hate you" Jon said and he removed his arm from her shoulder now she had stopped crying.

"Oh she does" Cat said bitterly "and why shouldn't she? She thinks I don't love her because I'm leaving for King's Landing after Sansa's party"

Jon shook his head.

"Deep down she knows that it's necessary" he said "you just need to give her some time to deal with it"

Catelyn snorted and she looked at him with narrowed blue eyes.

"I don't need your pity" she said while she wiped away her tears with her sleeve "and I don't need you to tell me how to deal with my children either, I've been dealing with them from the day they were born, Jon Snow"

She said his last name with as much disgust as she could possible manage.

"Arya is my sister and I..." Jon started but Catelyn slapped him across the face before he could finish his sentence.

"Arya is my daughter and you don't even belong here!"she shouted while tears streamed down her face again "It should have been you! It should be you who she hates and not me! You don't belong here, you bastard!"

Jon jumped up from the bed, left the room and slammed the door behind him.

He knew that Catelyn was under a lot of stress now she and Ned had been apart for a few weeks and he knew she didn't want to leave for King's Landing but he wasn't going to take the blame for any of those things.

He touched his red cheek and flinched a little.

She hadn't hit him too hard though and the redness would probably fade within an hour but the slap had reminded him of the time she hit him because he had accidently called her "mother".

He knew he wasn't a real Stark.

His siblings reminded him of that every day without realising it but he wasn't going to be Cat's doormat either.

He made a promise that he finally was going to stand up for himself.

His brothers at the AV club and Ygritte had given him the courage to do so and maybe Dany had helped a little bit too.

"_Oi, are you ignoring me, Jon Snow?"_

He smiled at the text.

He would never be Jon Stark but for once in his life it didn't suck to be Jon Snow either and there was nothing Catelyn Stark could do about that.

**Arya**

Arya was wandering through the convenience store while loud music blasted through her headphones.

She decided to go out for a little while after she had heard her mother fight with Jon and this store was the first thing that came to mind.

The convenience store wasn't near Winterfell but Gendry had told her that he sometimes bought cigarettes from there.

They supposedly didn't ask for your ID because it was such a small store that they couldn't afford to lose money like that.

An older woman gave her a disapproving look when she passed her in the candy aisle.

Arya flicked her long fringe and kept walking.

She was used to people reacting to her clothing and hair like that and she didn't mind.

She was wearing tight, black jeans, an oversized band shirt and a pair of combat boats and she had just reapplied the red streak in her fringe.

Her hair was very short apart from her fringe and it was as dark as ink just like Jon's hair.

Arya was looking through the candy aisle and she smiled when she saw a few lemon cakes.

She remembered getting into a fight with Sansa because she had accused her of eating the last lemon cake until Rickon walked into the kitchen and they noticed that there was yellow glazing all over his little face.

She decided to buy the cakes for Sansa since it was her birthday tomorrow and she continued walking through the aisle.

She noticed a boy with red hair and white streaks in it looking at her and he gave her a smile when she passed him.

Arya smiled back at him and subconsciously moved her hips in an seductive rhythm while she walked to the register at the end of the aisle.

She handed the lemon cakes to the woman behind the register and searched her pockets for money.

"Will that be all?" the woman asked with a kind smile.

"Uh can I also have some cigarettes?" Arya asked while she pretended that she was still searching for money.

It was easier for Arya to lie to the woman if she couldn't see her face and she definitely wasn't old enough to buy cigarettes yet.

The woman stayed quiet for a little while but eventually she seemed to have decided to sell Arya the cigarettes anyway.

She was just about to hand her a pack when she noticed something.

"Hey, what are you doing over there?!" she shouted at the boy with the red hair who was stuffing food into his pockets.

The boy shot her a distressed look and Arya made a quick decision to help him.

She "accidently" knocked over the small greeting card stand, which someone had placed next to the cash register, and the cards scattered all across the aisle and even on top of the cashier.

"Seven hells" the woman cursed while she looked at the mess Arya had made.

"I'm so sorry, miss" Arya said "here, I'll clean it up!"

Arya starting picking up the greeting cards and handed every single one of them back to the cashier who was growing more impatient and annoyed every second.

This way the woman however didn't notice that the boy had already fled the store with his loot.

"It's fine, really!" the woman shouted at Arya how had covered the complete cash register in greeting cards "I'll clean it up!"

"No, I insist on doing it myself!" Arya said who actually quiet liked to mess with the distressed woman.

"Go!" the woman shouted who apparently couldn't stand Arya ruining her organized shop any longer.

"As you wish" Arya said shrugging "thanks for the cigarettes by the way!"

She held up the pack of cigarettes which she had snatched from the pile of greeting cards and fled the shop without paying for them.

She kept running to make sure that if someone was following her he wouldn't catch her and she was still laughing when she went into an alleyway to catch her breath.

Arya opened the pack of cigarettes and put one in-between her lips.

She searched her pockets for a lighter until someone suddenly held one in front of her.

Arya noticed that it was the boy from the store and she allowed him to light her cigarette.

"A man owes his thanks" the boy said with a cheeky smile.

She noticed that he was a few years older than she and also that he was quiet handsome.

Arya shrugged.

"It's nothing" she said casually and she offered him a cigarette.

He took one from her and lit it.

"A girl is modest" he said looking her up and down.

"My name is Arya" she said "what's yours?"

"A man has the honour to be called Jaqen H'ghar" he said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Arya nodded and leaned against the brick wall in the alleyway which was covered in graffiti.

"You're from Lorath, right?" she asked recognizing his speech.

"A girl is clever" Jaqen said and he confirmed her assumption.

She couldn't help but smile and she shook her head softly.

"Arya" she said "call me Arya"

The Lorathi boy seemed to think for a while before he rephrased his last sentence.

"Arya is clever" he said and she started laughing out loud.

"Not many people would agree with you on that" she said with a cheeky smile.

She noticed that Jaqen had moved a little closer and she could see how muscular he was through his tight t-shirt.

"Does Arya care about many people?" he asked.

"Hells no" she said with that same cheeky smile.

Suddenly she heard a faint buzzing noise and Jaqen retrieved his phone from his pocket.

"A man's friends call upon him" he said after reading the text "Will he see Arya again?"

"Perhaps" she said shrugging but she gave him a wink to show him that she would like that too.

"Jaqen, let's go!" a voice said and they both turned around.

It was another boy and Arya thought she remembered him talking to the Hound after school one day but she wasn't sure.

"A man must leave" the Lorathi boy said with an apologetic expression on his face.

"Bye" Arya said with a sad smile.

Jaqen walked to the other boy and they left her alone again.

"What did you get?" she could still hear the boy ask "man, we're all starving back at the Hollow Hill. I wonder what Sandor managed to get"

Sandor?

Could Hollow Hill be the squatting house she had seen him enter a few days ago?

Arya had a feeling that she was going to see both Sandor and Jaqen again very soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Day 9: Crossing a line

**Sansa**

Professor Pycelle was going on and on about some king who had ruled Westeros long before any of them were born and long before Westeros turned into a democracy.

He was doing this in the most boring fashion possible and Sansa wondered how he managed to stay awake himself since half the students in her class had fallen asleep almost as soon as he had started his monologue.

Jeyne was sitting next to her and she was one of the few students who actually wrote down what Pycelle was saying.

"You look pretty today" Sansa told Jeyne in a hushed voice so Pycelle wouldn't notice that they were talking.

"Thanks" Jeyne said without looking up from her notes.

Sansa could almost feel the ice in her voice.

Usually Jeyne and Sansa never stayed quiet during class and many teachers had commented on that before but Jeyne and Sansa would just giggle and continue in a quieter voice.

Sansa really missed spending time with Jeyne.

Planning her birthday party with her best friend was supposed to be even more fun than the actual party but now the only thing they had done was fight.

Sansa was starting to feel more alone every day.

Margaery and Cersei were her friends of course but in reality she didn't know them that well at all.

The only thing she had known about them was that they were popular, pretty and happy and that had seemed enough.

Sansa took hold of Jeyne's hand and she finally looked up.

"I'm sorry, for being so caught up with my party" Sansa said "I just wanted it to be perfect"

A small smile appeared on Jeyne's face as she looked at her with big, brown eyes.

"It's okay" she sighed and she smiled again "we're still best friends"

"Forever" Sansa added and they both giggled.

Sansa felt like a weight had just been lifted off her shoulders.

She promised herself that she and Jeyne would start hanging out again after her party and everything would go back to normal.

Sansa wouldn't have to date Joffrey and she wouldn't have to pretend to be someone else anymore, because to be honest she really wanted lemon cakes on her birthday and not a stupid strawberry cake.

"So what's up with you and Ramsay?" Sansa asked her friend with a twinkle in her blue eyes "how did that happen?"

Sansa loved romantic stories and she hated the fact that she had completely missed Jeyne's.

"Well I went to his concert and we just hit it off right away" Jeyne said blushing with a shy smile on her face.

"That's adorable" Sansa said and she could just picture him singing a song for Jeyne.

She couldn't think of anything more romantic than a boy playing a love song for her.

"Well I'm just glad that you're not hung up on Theon anymore" Sansa said rolling her eyes at the thought of Theon Greyjoy alone.

A blush immediately spread across Jeyne's face and she quickly concentrated on her exercise book again.

"No way!" Sansa said forgetting to stay quiet for a second "you still like him?"

Jeyne turned even redder as she looked at Sansa with a guilty expression on her face.

"It's not like... it's just..." Jeyne said trying to explain herself "I really like Ramsay, okay?!"

Sansa flicked her long auburn hair and shot Jeyne an annoyed look.

"I can't believe you still like that douchebag especially after what he did to Robb!" Sansa said forgetting to stay quiet again "I bet he didn't even notice that you're dating someone, did he?"

"Well actually he did!" Jeyne said "he came to me as soon as he heard"'

Sansa started laughing but it didn't sound joyful.

"Let me guess" she said "it was something along the lines of, _yeah, Jeyne, I think you should totally bang me and not that guy, _right?"

Jeyne was close to tears now and she banged a clenched fist on the table.

"That's none of your business, and at least he is the only one who cared enough to talk to me about it!" Jeyne said almost shouting "that's more than I can say about you, Sansa!"

"Miss Poole, you are disturbing my class" Pycelle said and Sansa noticed for the first time that every student was looking at her and Jeyne "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave"

Jeyne cursed, packed her bag and got up from her seat.

"sorry" Sansa mouthed in Jeyne's direction but she rolled her eyes at her.

"whatever" she said and she slammed the classroom door behind her.

**Renly**

"I can't believe it" Loras said while he paced back and forth with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I know" Renly said who was sitting on his desk and eating a peach.

Renly had asked Loras to stay a little longer during the lunch break "to discuss a project" but in reality he had wanted to tell him about what Stannis had told him yesterday.

He knew that they had to be very careful and that he couldn't ask Loras to do this too often or else some students might start to suspect that they were secretly dating but he just had to tell him Stannis' news as soon as possible.

"We can't just sit back while Stannis lets this school go to waste!" Loras said "we have to do something!"

"But what?" Renly asked who was still eating and he noticed how cute Loras looked when he got mad.

"I don't know" Loras said and he wiped away some peach juice of Renly's chin before licking it of his own finger "but I'm sure that people would want to help if you asked them to"

Renly raised his eyebrows at that.

He had been the youngest brother of three and he had always been the last people who was allowed to make a decision back home.

"Yes, you!" Loras said while he played with Renly's dark hair "people listen to you, you know?"

Renly chuckled.

He had never imagined that he would be able to make a difference at Stannis' school but he did enjoy working with the students and they seemed to enjoy his lessons too.

"I don't know" he said shyly.

"I'd help you of course!" Loras said looking at him with hopeful, brown eyes.

Renly bit his lip but he couldn't say no to Loras and he agreed with him on the fact that they had to at least make an effort to keep the school open.

"Maybe" he said eventually with a small smile.

"I knew it!" Loras said laughing and he kissed Renly gratefully.

Renly could feel the younger boy press his body against his and he pulled him even closer.

He let out a moan as he could feel Loras biting his lower lip for just a second.

Loras pulled away and Renly could see he was looking at the clock.

"Do you have class?" Renly asked and he couldn't hide his disappointment.

Unfortunately they couldn't spend much time together and these little moments were the highlight of his day.

"Sorry" Loras said and he gave him one more quick kiss "I'll call you tonight"

Renly and Loras left the classroom together and Loras went to his next class.

Renly leaned against the wall next to his classroom door and watched Loras walk away.

"Give it back!" he heard someone shout.

Renly turned around and he saw three boys passing each other a blue backpack while a tall girl tried to get it back.

She was taller than all three of them and more muscular too yet somehow she didn't make an attempt to overpower them instead she just stood there asking them for her backpack over and over again.

"Come on, guys, cut it out!" he said and the three boys turned around.

"We're just playing, professor" the boy who was currently holding the backpack said "she can have it back if she trades it for a kiss"

The other two boys made noises like they had to instantly vomit at the thought alone and the tall girl grew very pale and for a second he thought she was going to cry.

"What's your name?" he asked the boy while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The boy seemed a bit confused by his question but answered nevertheless.

"Hyle Hunt, professor" he said still holding the blue backpack.

"And you two?" Renly asked pointing at the other two boys.

"Ben Bushy"

"Edmund Ambrose"

"Consider yourself lucky because all three of you are getting detention today" he said while approaching them.

He was taller than all three of them but he noticed that the girl was taller still.

"But..." Hyle Hunt started.

"But if you complain than I'll make sure that this isn't the only time you'll get detention this week and next week"

Hyle Hunt handed the girl her backpack and the three boys left while he could hear them mumble curse words.

Maybe Loras had been right.

He really did like helping other people and making a difference.

"Thank you" the blonde girl said softly.

"You're welcome" he said with a bright smile "and if they ever bother you again, you should come to me immediately"

The girl nodded while she looked at him with huge blue eyes.

"I will, professor" she said "my name is Brienne by the way, Brienne of Tarth"

"You can call me Renly, Brienne" he said.

The girl's face lit up when she smiled at him.

"Okay, prof-... Renly" she said and a blush spread across her freckled face.

**Jeyne**

Ramsay was leaning casually against the brick wall next to the recycling bin while Jeyne was pacing back and forth in front of him.

They were spending their lunch break outside so he could smoke and so Jeyne didn't have to face Sansa.

"I have never been so pissed off before in my life!" Jeyne said and she tried to kick over the recycling bin but she ended up hurting her foot instead.

Ramsay chuckled and shook his head while she continued pacing back and forth but with a slight limp this time.

"I've known Sansa for a very long time and I have always put up with her behaviour, even if I didn't want to, because I know that deep down she means well" Jeyne said "but I'm just sick and tired of being second place _all the time!_"

She walked up to Ramsay and put her head on his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around her.

"Is it too much to ask that every now and then she asks me how I'm doing while she is pursuing her life long quest of becoming popular?" Jeyne asked while she nuzzled his neck.

Ramsay offered her a cigarette when he retrieved the pack from his pocket to get a new one but she shook her head.

"I don't get why you even care about Sansa Stark" he said "you don't need someone like that"

Jeyne bit her lip to keep herself from defending Sansa.

She couldn't help it really.

They had known each other for so long already and they had shared so much.

She couldn't imagine a world without her best friend even though she drove her crazy every now and then.

"Maybe you're right" she sighed instead "and I can't even believe what she said about Theon"

The relaxed expression on Ramsay's face disappeared and he held her a bit tighter than he had done before she had spoken Theon's name but Jeyne was so consumed with her own problems that she didn't notice.

"What did she say about him?" he asked her.

Jeyne let out a sigh.

"Just that he was trying to break us up" she said while Ramsay held her close "and that she thinks he's a douchebag etcetera"

Ramsay's grip tightened even more and Jeyne let out a small gasp.

"What are you doing?" she asked chuckling.

Ramsay pulled back the arm that he had wrapped around her and then pushed her up against the brick wall.

His hands were on her wrists so she couldn't get away and he kissed her hard and passionately.

"You're mine" he whispered in her ear and his lips brushed against her skin "and I don't want you to worry about anyone but us"

"I won't" she said faking a smile and she tried to ignore her aching wrists.

She knew that he had meant it as a sweet gesture but somehow it felt like a threat too.

"Good" he said smiling and he let go of her wrists after stealing another kiss from her.

She heard a faint buzzing sound and Ramsay checked his phone.

A smile spread across his face as he read the text.

"Who's that?" she asked while she massaged her sore wrists.

"Some Frey kids, you don't know them" Ramsay said while he texted them back with that same smile on his face.

He sent the text and looked at her with a huge grin on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" she asked him laughing.

"They just texted that they were coming too tomorrow" he answered.

Jeyne didn't understand what he was talking about.

Sansa wasn't friends with any of the Freys and they weren't popular enough to qualify for Cersei's standards either.

"They're invited too?" she asked him confused.

"No, of course not" Ramsay said annoyed "they're going to crash the party"

Jeyne bit her lip and she could feel a blush spread across her face.

Ramsay had never been annoyed with her before and she really wished that could have stayed that way.

"Don't worry, it's going to be fun" he said smiling again "and it's Sansa's party so what do you care, right?"

"Yeah, what do I care..." Jeyne said nervously as Ramsay wrapped his arms around her again.

**Cersei**

Cersei was looking out of her bedroom window and into the garden.

The leaves of the trees were changing from green to gold, orange and red.

Cersei never liked autumn or winter because she looked best in the summer sun when the light made her golden hair glow.

She drank some of her wine and rubbed her forehead.

Cersei hadn't slept at all that night because the nightmares had kept her up again.

Even after all this time the face of Maggy the Frog still haunted her.

Melara had dared her to go to the fortune-teller at the annual carnival in Lannisport.

She had wanted to proof her that a lion of Casterly Rock doesn't fear a stupid, old charlatan like Maggy the Frog but she had soon come to regret this.

The words of the woman's prophecy still echoed through her head.

_Someone younger and more beautiful will cast you down and take everything that you hold dear._

"Hello, dear!" Margaery said when she opened the door of Cersei's bedroom and let herself in "oh wine already? That's a bit early"

Cersei rolled her eyes at Margaery and put the glass down.

"Only the Gods can judge me" she said before she kissed the Tyrell girl on each cheek.

_Margaery isn't that much younger, is she?_ Cersei thought.

"So tomorrow is the big day, isn't it?" Margaery said still smiling that dumb smile of hers "Do you already know what you're going to wear?"

"Something green" Cersei answered and Margaery's smile disappeared for just a split second.

Cersei loved wearing green because it matched her eyes but also because if she wore green than Margaery couldn't wear green too which meant the Tyrell girl couldn't display her beloved house colours.

"That will go wonderful with your eyes, Cersei" Margaery said smiling.

"Thank you" Cersei said "that's why I bought it of course"

Cersei couldn't stand Margaery's false compliments and she wanted nothing more than to knock her pearly whites out but she smiled at the girl instead.

Her bedroom door opened again and Joffrey entered the room.

"Oh Margaery, I didn't know that you had already arrived" Joffrey said but Cersei knew he was lying "you look very beautiful today"

Cersei rolled her eyes at that and her grip on the wine glass tightened while she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Oh that's so kind of you to say!" Margaery said and she put her hand on Joffrey's arm "You look very handsome too"

She could see Joffrey's eyes shift from Margaery's face to her cleavage and Cersei coughed loudly to let them know that she was still there.

Cersei had noticed that there was something going on between Joffrey and Margaery ever since her pool party that summer.

Margaery had made a whole show of putting sunscreen on and she had even asked him to apply it to her back.

Cersei knew that Margaery was just using Joffrey to gain popularity but apparently he wasn't smart enough to see this himself.

_That's the problem with men_ she thought bitterly _they do all of their thinking with the little worm between their legs._

She had hoped that Sansa would have been able to distract him from Margaery but her plan hadn't succeeded.

"How did your date with Sansa go?" Cersei asked Joffrey.

Joffrey shrugged.

"It was okay" he said.

"You'd better make sure that it's more than okay tomorrow" Cersei said annoyed.

Cersei was terrified that someone would find out that she had invited the Freys to Sansa's party but if she made sure that all the guests knew that she had done everything to make it a great party than no one could blame her or Joffrey for that matter.

"I'm trying!" Joffrey said with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Try harder" Cersei said while she got up from the bed "this is incredibly important, do you understand?"

Joffrey ran a hand through his golden hair and she could see that he was running out of patience.

"You're not my mother, you know?" he said.

Cersei slapped him hard across the face while tears burned in her eyes.

Joffrey had always been her favourite cousin and he basically grew up at Casterly Rock.

She remembered the first time she was allowed to hold him when he was just a baby.

He had cried all day long but he stopped when she was holding him and he had smiled at her.

Cersei had spent hours and hours trying to teach him how to walk or how to say her name but at the end of the day his parents would always take him home again and she would feel empty.

"You can't do that!" Joffrey shouted while his cheek reddened.

"Try to stop me" Cersei said staring straight into his green eyes.

They looked at each other like that for a few seconds until Joffrey was the first one to look away.

"Whatever, I'll be nice to Sansa" he said trying to sound as if he didn't care at all.

"Good" Cersei said and she couldn't hide a smile.

**Arya**

Arya was sitting in a night bus with her headphones on and her hood pulled over her head.

Her backpack was on the seat next to her and she had stuffed some underwear, her toothbrush and clean shirts in it.

It had taken her a while but eventually she had managed to figure out where the Hollow Hill was.

Arya repressed a yawn and checked her watch: It was about 3 A.M.

Her family wouldn't notice that she was gone until after Sansa's party.

Cat had given up on trying to wake Arya on time and forcing her to eat breakfast so there was a small change that her mother would go into her room that morning.

Everyone would be too busy worrying about the party for the rest of the day to notice her and when they finally did notice she was gone, she would already be at the Hollow Hill.

Arya had never tried to runaway before but the thought that no one would notice had made it easier somehow.

The bus stopped at the corner of the street where the Hollow Hill was so Arya got up from her seat to leave the vehicle.

"Are you sure you need to be here?" the bus driver asked looking at the young girl who was about to walk into a neighbourhood known for its bad reputation.

"Yeah, I'm sure" she said but she really wasn't.

The squatting house still looked like she remembered it with its boarded up windows and missing roof tiles.

"Here goes nothing" she said sighing and she knocked on the door which paint was starting to peel off.

She put her ear against the wooden door and she could hear hushed voices.

"I know you're in there!" she shouted "Sandor, come on! Jaqen! Someone!"

Arya could hear footsteps and a boy with pale blond hair opened the door for her.

"Edric!" she said surprised when she recognised the boy from school.

"Arya, what are you doing here?" he asked with a confused smile.

"I'm looking for Sandor" she said.

Edric's face fell when he heard Sandor's name.

"Yeah, he is..." Edric started but Arya interrupted him by pushing past him and entering Hollow Hill.

The squatting house was nothing like she had imagined.

They were children of all ages at Hollow Hill: two sixteen year old girls were softly talking to each other while one rocked her baby to sleep, an eight year old girl was crying on an old mattress while her big brother wrapped an arm around her shoulder, a few teenage boys were playing poker next to the only window which wasn't boarded up and more children were using a burn barrel to warm their hands.

"What is this place?" she asked Edric.

"This is The Hollow Hill" he said almost with pride "it's a place for everyone who has nowhere to go"

Arya didn't think that was hard to believe when she saw all the runaways at the Hollow Hill.

Their clothes looked a bit tattered and some of them looked like they could use a nice shower but neither one of them looked starving and they all looked happy to a certain degree.

"The name sounds familiar" Arya said while she bit her lip.

That had been bothering her for a while now.

"It's the name of the first album of The Brotherhood without Banner's, you know, when they we're still called..." Edric said before Arya interrupted him.

"The Forgotten Fellowship!" she said.

They both laughed until she heard a deep voice.

"What are you doing here?" Sandor asked who had pulled his hood over his head again to hide his scars.

"I was looking for you" she answered.

"Go home to Winterfell" Sandor just said and she could see that he was getting very angry.

She put her hands on her hips and stared straight into his eyes.

"You can't make me leave" she said.

Her mother was leaving Winterfell so why shouldn't she?

No one seemed to care where she went anyway.

"Let her stay, Sandor, it's her choice" Edric said and Arya could notice that people were starting to stare at them now.

"Fine" Sandor sighed and he went back to his bed in the corner of the room.

She followed him and put her backpack on the mattress near his bed.

"Why are you here?" he asked her annoyed.

"Because I have nowhere else to go" she answered.

Sandor rubbed his forehead.

"Whatever" he said shrugging and he flopped down onto his bed.

Arya sat down on her mattress which looked sort of clean and wondered how she was going to get through the night.

As usual she hadn't thought anything through and Sandor didn't seem to appreciate it either.

"Arya" she heard someone say and when she looked up she noticed that it had been Jaqen "a man is honoured to see a girl again"

At least someone was happy to see her.

"Will Arya be joining The Fellowship?" he asked her "a man would be honoured to train her"

"No, she isn't joining anything" Sandor said suddenly.

"A girl can decide so herself" the Lorathi boy said.

Sandor got up from his bed and Arya could see that he was obviously taller than Jaqen.

"She followed me here, so she's my responsibility" he said in his gruff voice.

Sandor pointed at Arya and then at his bed.

"I'm taking the mattress, you can have the bed" he said before looking at Jaqen "you're leaving now"

Jaqen smiled one last time at Arya before leaving the two of them alone.

Arya sat down on the bed while she watched Sandor lay down on the mattress on the ground.

"Thanks" she said softly.

"I wanted to sleep her anyway" Sandor said and Arya couldn't help but smile.

Like usual she checked her phone before she went to sleep and she noticed that Gendry had tweeted something.

_Thinking of her._

Arya's face turned bright red while she quickly put her phone away.

Could that be her?

* * *

**I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who is reading this story, i****t means a lot to me :)**

**You guys are really awesome and you've made this even more fun to write :D**

**As you might have noticed the next chapter is going to be an important event and it will look a little bit different than usual, there will only be two (maybe three) different POV's but they will be longer.**

**So stay tuned for Chapter 10: the Red Birthday ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, guys! I just wanted to warn you that this chapter contains more angst and violence than usual but nothing too crazy.**

**Love, Lady Jeyne Deadpoole :)**

* * *

Day 10: The Red Birthday

**Sansa**

Sansa was sitting in front of her vanity and brushing her auburn hair.

She could feel the butterflies in her stomach and she couldn't help but be excited for her party.

Her dress was gorgeous and she didn't think she had ever looked so elegant, sophisticated and sexy at the same time.

"Oh Sansa" her mother said when she entered her bedroom and saw her oldest daughter "you look absolutely beautiful!"

Cat approached her daughter and gave her a long hug.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart" she said and she kissed her on both cheeks.

"Thanks, mom" Sansa said with a huge smile on her face.

There were tears in her mother's eyes which she quickly wiped away.

"You're growing up so fast" Catelyn said.

"Oh my Gods, mom, stop it!" Sansa said laughing.

Catelyn laughed too while she pulled up a chair and sat down behind Sansa so she could braid her hair.

"By the way have you seen Arya?" her mother asked her.

"I don't think so" Sansa said frowning while she tried to remember when she had seen her little sister last "but she's probably at a friend's house"

"I know" Catelyn said sighing while she put Sansa's hair up after braiding it "but I still worry about her"

"Me too" she said while she moved her head so she could admire her hairdo from different angles.

It suited her look very well and Sansa couldn't believe that things were finally going like she had planned.

Today was going to be her big day and no one was going to spoil it for her.

"As you know your father and I have decided that we're going to buy you a car for your birthday" Catelyn said while a huge smile appeared on Sansa's face "but I wanted to give you something else too"

Her mother handed her a box wrapped in silver paper.

Sansa unwrapped her present and saw that there was a beautiful necklace inside of the box.

"Oh My Gods, mom, isn't that...?" Sansa started while she recognized the present.

"Yes, that's the necklace I wore at my wedding" Cat said with an almost sad smile "my house words are engraved in it"

The necklace was silver with a large blue gem.

Sansa turned the gem around and saw the words: _family, duty, honour._

"I know you're not a Tully but..." Cat started but Sansa interrupted her by hugging her.

"It's beautiful, mom, thank you so much"

The doorbell rang and her mother got up from her seat.

"Sounds like your _friends_ have arrived" Catelyn said not being able to keep her disdain from her voice "I'll get the door"

It didn't take long before Joffrey followed by Cersei and Margaery entered her bedroom.

"Happy Birthday, my love" Joffrey said and he pressed a kiss on her hand.

"Thank you" she said and a blush spread across her face.

All three of them looked impeccable.

Cersei was wearing a green cocktail dress with an a-line skirt, a sweetheart neckline and a sparkly belt, Margaery was wearing a tight, blue cocktail dress with sheer sleeves adorned with shimmering rhinestones and Joffrey was wearing a black suite, a dark red shirt and a golden tie.

"Cersei, I just wanted to thank you again for the beautiful dress" Sansa said "it's a perfect present"

"You deserve it, little dove" Cersei said smiling.

"Talking about presents" Margaery said holding up another box wrapped in green paper "I got you a little something"

She handed it to Sansa and she quickly unwrapped it.

She noticed that "the little something" was actually an expensive looking silver hair pin decorated with amethysts.

"It's beautiful!" Sansa said "Thank you so much"

"You're welcome, dear" Margaery said.

They heard that the DJ had started playing music which meant that the first guests had arrived.

"Oh My Gods, I'm so excited!" Sansa said clapping her hands.

"Me too!" Margaery said doing the same and Sansa thought she saw Cersei roll her eyes at them.

"Well let's go then" Cersei said "can't keep the people waiting, right?"

Sansa and her friends made their way downstairs and her excitement grew with every step.

Her mother and she had decorated the garden for the party.

They had put down wooden boards to create a dance floor and next to the dance floor there was a little stage with the silver DJ booth on top of it.

They had put down tables with white tablecloths, one was meant to put presents on and they others were filled with food and drinks.

Men and women in white tuxedos would pass out more drinks to the guests and they had decorated the trees with silver and white lanterns.

They had put an archway made out of white balloons at the end of the stairs that lead to the garden, since the porch was a bit higher, which meant Sansa and Joffrey could make a grand entrée.

Sansa and Joffrey walked into the kitchen which lead to the porch and she could feel her heart racing.

"I'm so nervous" she told him but he seemed to be barely listening.

"It'll be fine" he just said and he linked arms with her.

Cersei and Margaery had already gone into the garden to tell the DJ when he should play Sansa's entree music and they noticed that most guests had already arrived.

Joffrey opened the door for her and the right music started to play.

A huge smile appeared on her face as they descended the stairs together.

All eyes were on them... for just a few seconds until the loud roaring of a motorcycle drowned out her music.

"What the..." Sansa said almost cursing and she got up on her toes to see where the noise was coming from.

Ramsay Bolton parked his motorcycle next to their gate and he helped his girlfriend get off the vehicle in an elegant way.

"Did we interrupt something?" he asked laughing and Sansa noticed that some people were laughing with him which she didn't like one bit.

He linked arms with Jeyne who was wearing a gorgeous designer dress which she could have never paid for herself.

It was a black cocktail dress with an a-line skirt and the dress was completely covered with lace.

The dress had a sweetheart neckline and one sheer, diagonal strap and she wore a deep red ribbon belt to accentuate her narrow waist.

She was wearing teardrop ruby earrings and she had curled her hair.

Sansa could strangle her friend at that moment.

_So much for nothing prettier than Sansa's dress, _she thought bitterly.

Things got even worse when she noticed that Ramsay's tie was exactly the same colour as Jeyne's belt.

His suite and shirt were black though and for a second she thought he was wearing eyeliner.

Sansa and Joffrey descended the last few steps and she didn't even bother to smile since her grand entrée was ruined anyway.

It had seemed a fun idea to have a first dance when they were planning the party but she felt too nervous now.

Sansa couldn't help but be mad at Jeyne for stealing her spotlight even if it was just for a second.

She took a deep breath and exhaled her worries.

Sulking wasn't going to help her now and Joffrey was waiting for her to dance with him.

Sansa gave him her most beautiful smile and the DJ started the music.

Sansa had taken dance classes since she was old enough to stand so dancing was her second nature and Joffrey was very good at it too.

She forgot about Jeyne while they moved to the music and her smile became more genuine.

She heard someone whisper something which was followed by laughter.

She turned her head to see Jeyne and Ramsay trying to hold back their laugher and Sansa accidently stepped on Joffrey's foot.

"Ouch, watch where you're going , you stupid bitch!" Joffrey said and he immediately let go of her.

Sansa's face turned as red as her dress but luckily the DJ started playing some deafeningly loud pop music and all the guests went onto the dance floor without paying much attention to her apart from the few people who told her that they loved her dress.

"I'm sorry" she told Joffrey softly.

"You'd better be" he said "make yourself useful and get me a drink, will you"

She nodded quickly and pushed through the crowd of people until she reached the table with the drinks on it.

There were tears in her eyes and she leaned heavily on the table because she felt like she was going to pass out.

"Are you okay?" Robb asked who was standing behind the table so he could help guests get a drink.

"No" Sansa said wiping away her tears and praying to the Gods that her makeup wasn't running "everything is ruined"

"No, it's not" her brother said with his kind smile "do you know what high school children are like at a party?"

Sansa shook her head while tears were still running down her face.

"Believe me, they're going to drink and dance and tomorrow that's all they're going to remember if they remember anything at all" he said.

"Are you sure?" she asked him.

Robb laughed and he ran a hand through his curls.

"Theon sang at my party and people still loved it so, yeah, I'm pretty sure that no one will remember a few hiccups like this" he said smiling.

"You guys, we're so wasted last year" Sansa chuckled.

Robb smiled and handed her a glass of champagne.

"We were and now it's your time to party" he said and they clinked their glasses together.

Sansa turned around so she could see the dancing people but she couldn't find Joffrey.

She drank some from her champagne and shrugged.

The least she had to see him, the better especially after his outburst.

She noticed that Ramsay and Jeyne were dancing closely on the dance floor and she also noticed that she wasn't the only one who thought that was at least a little bit inappropriate.

Theon Greyjoy was standing next to a different table filled with drinks and she could almost hear him grind his teeth.

A girl walked up to Theon but he barely noticed her and he kept his eyes fixed on Jeyne.

She let out a sigh and couldn't believe what she was about to do, but if Theon really liked Jeyne that he deserved to know that she still had feelings for him too.

Jeyne might have crossed the line by showing up in a gorgeous designer dress but she was still Sansa's friend and there was something disturbing about seeing her dance with a guy wearing eyeliner.

Sansa finished her drink and pushed through the crowd to get to Theon Greyjoy.

"excuse me, sorry, coming through" she muttered until she came across a peculiar couple.

Joffrey recognized her voice and turned around with lipstick smudges on his face.

"Sansa, I..." he started but she interrupted him.

"It's fine" she said smiling at Margaery and Joffrey.

She didn't know if it had to do with the alcohol, which she had never drunk before, but she honestly didn't care who Joffrey was kissing.

It even made her glad that she didn't have to pretend to be his date anymore.

A waiter walked past them and Sansa took two glasses of champagne of his tray.

"Enjoy" she said while she handed one to Margaery and one to Joffrey "don't worry about me, I'll get over it"

She laughed while she walked away from the couple who were still staring at her with a confused expression on their faces.

Sansa told herself that she would have to tell Margaery what kind of boy Joffrey really was but she was going to postpone that for a little while.

Margaery did just steal her boyfriend after all she thought laughing.

Theon was still leaning against the table with all the drinks on it while he was drinking his fourth or fifth beer.

Sansa was just about to talk to him about Jeyne but then all hell broke loose.

**Jeyne**

Ramsay helped Jeyne off the motorcycle and she noticed that everyone was staring at them including Sansa and according to her friend's face they had arrived on the perfect moment... not.

Jeyne cursed under her breath.

Her plan was to arrive a little bit later than everyone else so she and Ramsay could blend into the crowd of people without anyone noticing them, but of course Sansa had want to arrive "fabulously late" at her own party so she could make a grand entrée.

"Did we interrupt something?" Ramsay asked laughing and some guests laughed with him.

Sansa was looking really angry now and Jeyne was trying to repress the urge to runaway and go home.

Ramsay linked arms with her and they walked to the other guests who were standing at the edge of the dance floor.

Sansa and Joffrey were going to have the first dance and Jeyne thought that was a really romantic idea.

Joffrey and Sansa moved very elegantly while Sansa's dressed swirled around her.

"Is it just me or has Joffrey really perfected the art of looking constipated?" Ramsay whispered in her ear.

Jeyne couldn't help but laugh and Sansa immediately turned her head.

"Ouch, watch where you're going, you stupid bitch!" Joffrey shouted when Sansa accidently stepped on his foot.

Jeyne gasped and covered her mouth while she saw Sansa's face turn as red as her beautiful dress.

The DJ immediately started playing loud pop music and the guests all went onto the dance floor.

Jeyne tried to find Sansa but she had disappeared into the crowd.

"Let's dance" Ramsay said with a cheeky smile.

She didn't feel like it really but she was afraid to deny him anything after what had happened yesterday when he had pinned her up against the wall.

She put her arms around his neck while he placed his hands on her ass and pulled her closer.

Jeyne didn't think that protesting would get her anywhere after their first time together.

She hadn't told him that it was her first time after he had given her the earrings but he knew it was and she had even bled.

"Smile" he said softly when he noticed the expression on her face "it's a party, remember?"

She forced herself to smile at him and he pressed a kiss on her lips.

"Good girl" he said smiling and he rested his forehead against hers.

She smiled back at him but she couldn't enjoy the moment.

Jeyne just felt like something bad was about to happen.

"Oh I almost forgot" she said all of the sudden "I have to talk to Robb about my present"

"Don't keep me waiting, okay?" Ramsay said before he let go of her.

She smiled at him again and pushed through the crowd until she reached Robb's table.

"If you're looking for Sansa, you've just missed her" he said.

"Actually I wanted to check on the present" Jeyne said.

Robb retrieved the scrapbook which he had hidden underneath the table.

"Here it is" he said handing her the book wrapped in silver paper.

Jeyne had made a scrapbook for Sansa which was filled with pictures from the day they met until their last summer vacation together.

She had put a lot of work into it and Robb had helped her finish it by adding a few pictures of Sansa she didn't have herself.

"Thank you so much" she said smiling.

"That's okay" Robb said "I hope Sansa and you will patch things up soon"

Jeyne bit her lip.  
"Me too" she said "and I hope you and Theon will do the same"

Robb was about to answer when all hell broke loose.

A noise that sounded just like a chainsaw appeared from the woods just behind Winterfell and all the guests turned around to see what was going on.

A large group of teens wearing hockey masks came running out of the woods and one of them was indeed holding a chainsaw.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" Robb shouted at the fastest one of them who was the closest to the party guests.

The boy didn't answer but immediately planted his fist in-between Robb's eyes.

Everyone started shouting and before Jeyne knew it the guests were fighting with the masked teens.

Everywhere she looked she saw people getting hit and blood streaming down faces.

Jeyne could feel tears burn into her eyes as the fighting people kept bumping into her.

"Ramsay!" she shouted over and over again until she found him kicking a boy who was laying on his stomach and covering his bleeding nose with his hands.

She wanted to call him again and she wanted somebody to protect her but suddenly a boy grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

"Hello, pretty girl" he said through his mask.

"Get off me!" she shouted "Ramsay, help!"

The masked boy wouldn't let go off her but a fist seemed to have appeared out of nowhere when Theon knocked him out cold.

"Are you hurt?" he asked her loudly while everyone around them was screaming and cursing.

"No" she said crying "where's Sansa?"

"Inside, with the Lannisters and that Tyrell girl" he said "have you seen Robb?"

She shook her head while tears streamed down her face.

"Not after the fighting started"

"Just stick with me, okay?" he said with his usual smile "I'll keep you safe"

She smiled through her tears and allowed him to wrap an arm around her waist.

Jeyne was holding onto him while they made their way through the fighting people.

She buried her head in his chest and she could smell the familiar fragrant of his cologne.

"Thanks" she whispered but she didn't know if he had heard her.

Sometimes one of the masked teens, who by now she had figured out were probably the Frey kids Ramsay had been talking about, tried to punch Theon but he made sure that Jeyne and he were never in any danger.

She was still holding onto Theon until she heard a familiar voice.

"What the fuck, Greyjoy!" Ramsay shouted when he saw them together.

"It's not what it looks like!" Jeyne said quickly and she let go of Theon.

Ramsay threw a punch at Theon but he caught his fist in his hand.

"Just listen..." Theon started but Ramsay was beyond reason.

"I told you not to fuck with my things and now I see you messing around with my bitch!" Ramsay said.

"The fuck did you just call her?!" Theon shouted and he punched Ramsay in the face.

Both boys were ready to attack each other until they heard a loud *BANG*.

They turned around and Jeyne noticed that someone had knocked over one of the DJ's large amplifiers which had immediately caught fire.

Jeyne covered her mouth with her hand and she couldn't believe what was happening.

"Ramsay, let's go!" one of the masked boys shouted.

"I've got to finish this first" Ramsay said clenching his fists and looking at Theon.

"They're calling the cops, we have to go _now_!" the boy shouted again.

Ramsay seemed to think for a while and he grabbed Jeyne's wrist.

"This isn't finished, Greyjoy" Ramsay said and he spit at Theon's feet.

Ramsay dragged Jeyne through the crying, fighting and fleeing people and forced her to get on his motorcycle with him.

Jeyne couldn't help but cry.

She had never felt so lost before in her life.

Her beautiful fairytale had crumbled in front of her own eyes and Ramsay had shown his true colours.

She just hoped that they would be able to put the fire out in time and she hoped that Theon could forgive her.

She was the one who had dragged him into this after all.

Suddenly Ramsay pulled over and he got off his motorcycle.

She didn't recognize the part of town they were in and she wondered what they were doing there.

Jeyne got off the motorcycle too and noticed that the street they were in was completely deserted.

"Where are we?" she asked him.

"Shut up" he just said and he pushed her up against the wall again.

He pressed a sloppy kiss on her lips and moved his hand up her skirt.

"Stop!" she shouted and she pushed him off her "you won't get away with what you've done!"

He hit her all of the sudden and a large bruise appeared on her cheekbone.

"And who asked for your opinion?" he asked through his teeth "Gods, you really are more trouble than you're worth and you're not even half as pretty as that friend of yours Sansa"

Tears were streaming down her face while he shattered her heart into pieces.

Ramsay might be a monster but he was the only boy who ever loved her or at least made her feel like he did.

He lifted her chin and kissed her again while he bit her lip until it bled.

"Don't cry, love, I still like you" Ramsay said "I just can't trust you which is why I made sure that Theon will take the fall for all of this"

"What are you talking about?" she asked him while she feared his answer.

"See, all my masked friends were wearing KRAKEN t-shirts so it's not so hard for the guests to associate the attack with the heir to that company" he answered smiling while he stroked her hair "and on top of that everyone knows that Theon has already wrecked Robb's car so this would only be a logical next step for him, don't you think?"

Jeyne shook her head while she could feel her panic rise.

"You can't do that!" she said "I'll tell the cops!"

A knife flickered in Ramsay's hand and he pressed it against her cheek.

"If you do that then I'll kill you and your friend" he said drawing the knife across her cheek, barely cutting the skin "do you understand?"

Jeyne nodded while she fought back her tears.

"Good girl" Ramsay said again before he forced her to kiss him.


	11. Chapter 11

Day 11: Small Talk

**Arya**

Arya was joining Jaqen on her first heist.

Sandor didn't want her to help the others with stealing but eventually she had managed to get her way.

She had noticed that there weren't many members of the Forgotten Fellowship who dared to stand up to Sandor.

She had learned that that had to do with the fact that a lot of the members had joined the Fellowship so they could avoid the Mountain's gang.

The Mountain was Sandor's older brother and he was the one who was responsible for his facial scars.

The Mountain had gotten his name during his time in juvenile prison and he had earned it because he was taller than anyone they had ever seen and also more muscular.

There were only two ways to deal with Gregor: fighting or fleeing and if you valued your life fighting wasn't an option.

The members forgot however that Sandor probably hated his brother even more than they did and he was also the reason why he had fled home.

He hadn't told her this though but she was certain she was right.

Sandor didn't have any friends among the Fellowship and the only thing he talked to her about was leaving.

"A man wonders what a girl's plan could be" Jaqen said while he inspected the large supermarket.

Arya had convinced Jaqen to steal from a supermarket which belonged to a large chain instead of a small convenience store since they were more likely to be able to miss the money.

Arya took the bobby pin she had clipped on the strap of her bra and put it in the lock of the store's backdoor.

She knew exactly how to open a door like that since it was the way she opened the Direwolves' kennel every time her mother forbid her to go see them because she was grounded.

She moved the pin around until she heard her phone sing one of her favourite songs.

Arya didn't read the name that had appeared on the screen and immediately pushed the green button even though she had been avoiding doing that for the entire day now.

"_Where the fuck are you?!" _

Arya's heart sank and she wondered if there was still time to hang up on Gendry.

"Why are you calling me, I'm busy?" she just said and she hoped that he would hang up on her because she had been so rude.

"_Because I was just at your house and you weren't there and your mother told me that she hadn't seen you yesterday either" _he said still sounding angry.

"Shit, what did you tell her?" Arya asked quickly because she didn't want her mother to come looking for her but she also didn't want her mother to worry about her.

"_I made up some bullshit story that I forgot that you were supposed to come to my house and not the other way around, but I'm not covering for you again"_ Gendry said _"So I don't care if you're busy, you're coming home right now!"_

"I can't" she said biting her lip.

"_Then I'll come and get you, where are you?" _

"I can't say either" she said and she noticed that Jaqen was growing impatient "I have to go"

"_Arya, you can't do this to me or your family"_ Gendry said _"we're all worried sick"_

"You guys are the ones who abandoned me, okay?" she said getting angry "My mom is running off to King's Landing, Sansa is busy with Joffrey Lannister, Jon is always at Ygritte's house and you won't even come to our rehearsal if Jeyne isn't around!"

Jaqen raised his eyebrows at her as if he wanted to ask her if everything was all right.

She made a vague gesture with her hand telling him not to worry about it.

"_The only time I skipped practice is because this man came to talk to me about my real mother and father and it had nothing to do with Jeyne, why would you even think that?" _

"So you don't like Jeyne?" she asked softly.

"_No, I like... I like..just tell me where you are, okay?"_

Jaqen pointed at his watch and Arya realized that they only had a few minutes left until the first employees would show up at work.

"I've got to go, but I'll talk to you soon" Arya said and she quickly hung up on Gendry before he could protest.

"Okay, let's do this" she said looking at the door which Jaqen had managed to open with the bobby pin.

**Theon**

Theon was walking down the street with his hands in his pockets and his faded black hood pulled over his head.

He still couldn't believe what had happened yesterday at Sansa's party.

Several guests had to be taken to the hospital and they had to call the fire-fighters to put out the flames which were busy consuming the DJ booth and the wooden dance floor.

Luckily the fire didn't damage the house.

Theon knew that the police had asked everyone to testify what they had seen but he had decided that he wasn't going to go to the police station.

He didn't know anything the police hadn't heard a dozen times already by now.

He checked his phone to see if Jeyne had returned his call but she hadn't.

Theon didn't trust Ramsay with Jeyne and he had never done so.

He just hoped that she was smart enough to get as far away as possible from him after what had happened last night.

Suddenly he noticed that a car was driving slowly next to him.

The driver rolled the window down and he saw that it was Stannis.

"Get into the car" he said.

"Sorry, my father told me not to go with strangers" Theon said with a cheeky smile.

"I wouldn't be trying so hard to be funny if I was in as much trouble as you are" Stannis said "now stop fooling around and get into the car, Greyjoy"

Theon sighed and got into the car.

Stannis pushed a little button and the tinted window closed again.

"Are you stalking me or what?" Theon asked while he put his feet up on the dashboard.

"I was going to visit you at home actually" Stannis said "and get your dirty feet of my dashboard"

Theon could hear Stannis grind his teethe while they kept driving.

"So what have I done this time?" Theon asked after he removed his feet from the dashboard.

"You know what you did" Stannis said "it's always the same stuff you pull, Theon, but this time you've really gone too far, I don't care if you were angry at him or not this is unacceptable"

Theon couldn't think of anything he had done that could have pissed Stannis off this much.

"What are you talking about?" he asked him.

"The attack on your friend's house" Stannis said "that's why I'm taking you to the police station"

Theon could feel his panic level rise.

"I didn't do that!" Theon shouted "who said I did? Let me guess it's that bastard Ramsay Snow, right?"

"I can't tell who accused you" Stannis said but his tone gave away that Theon was right.

Theon held his head in his hands while he tried to comprehend what was going on.

"I've done a lot of stupid things but this I didn't do" Theon said "you've got to believe me!"

Stannis shook his head but Theon could see that he wasn't as certain as he had been when he had commanded Theon to get into the car.

"Several people testified that they saw the attackers wearing shirts with the KRAKEN symbol on it" Stannis said.

"Exactly, why would I be stupid enough to give them t-shirts with KRAKEN on it if I was going to pretend that I knew nothing about the attack?" Theon asked Stannis "believe me, if I did do it, and I didn't, you would know! There wouldn't be any masks and I would be the first one to start the fight!"

Theon could hear Stannis grind his teeth again.

"Maybe you're right" he said after a little while.

"You wouldn't turn me in for something I didn't do, would you?" Theon asked him.

Stannis sighed and pulled the car up to the sidewalk.

"No, I wouldn't" Stannis said "even if you deserve it for all the other things you've done"

Theon smiled and opened the car door.

"So what are you going to tell the police?" Theon asked Stannis before he got out of the car.

"Oh nothing" Stannis answered with what he would consider a smile but what just looked like he was frowning less deep "I already told them this morning that I would make sure the culprit would be punished myself. The Starks aren't going to press charges after all and the school can't afford bad press"

"So you were just trying to scare?" Theon asked.

"It worked, didn't it?" Stannis answered before he drove off.

**Jaime**

Jaime was standing on the football field while a watery sun shone down on them.

His team and the boys who were trying out to join the team were stretching on the grass.

He gave Brienne an encouraging smile but her nervous expression didn't disappear from her face.

Jaime could hear some of the boys talking to each other about the fact that a girl was trying out for the team too.

They didn't seem too worried about her though but Jaime knew that was a mistake.

They had trained very hard for this moment and she hadn't disappointed him once.

He told them to start running two laps and he was pleasantly surprised to see that Brienne had no problem keeping up with the fastest members of his team.

He could see that the attitude of the new boys changed while she passed them and he hoped that they would start to respect her more now.

For a moment Jaime thought she was going to surpass every member of his team but Loras decided that that wasn't going to happen and he started sprinting.

Brienne was powerful but big so in the end she couldn't keep up with Loras who was a bit more light-footed than she was.

"Go, Loras!" he heard someone shout.

Jaime turned around and he saw that Professor Renly was approaching them.

He was wearing green jeans, a white t-shirt and sunglasses even though it wasn't sunny enough for those kind of clothes.

"Hello, professor, are you going to watch the tryouts?" Jaime asked.

His coach had told him that there would be some kind of supervision during the first tryout even though he wouldn't be there himself.

"If you don't mind" Renly said smiling "your coach asked me to"

Jaime nodded.

"Did you play football yourself when you were in high school, professor?" Jaime asked him.

"I was" Renly said "but I wasn't near as good as my older brother Robert, he was the quarterback in his time and they called him the "War hammer", stupid right?"

Jaime had to admit that he would rather be called "War hammer" than "Kingslayer" any time of the day but he smiled to give Renly the reaction he was looking for.

Jaime rubbed his stubbled chin while he thought about his next move.

Cersei hated the fact that he was growing a beard which was exactly the reason why he wasn't going to shave.

"Okay, guys, let's split up into two teams and start playing" Jaime said "don't worry too much about it and just play, okay? I'm just going to see what position would suite you best"

"Let's do shirts versus skins" Osney Kettleblack said after looking at Brienne.

His brothers and some of his other team members laughed at that.

"Are you sure, Osney?" Osmund, the oldest of the Kettleblacks, asked "we don't want to over stimulate Loras here"

"Don't worry about that, Osmund, I'm not into men who are half carpet" Loras said with a disgusted expression on his face.

Jaime knew that Loras was right because Osmund had clogged the shower drain in the locker-room more than one time already.

He didn't envy whoever had to clean that up.

Eventually the boys split up into two teams that were more or less fair and they started to play.

_Come on, Brienne_ he thought while he watched her struggle to get involved in the game.

Apparently the boys in her team had silently decided that they weren't going to pass to her which led to her looking a bit lost.

Jaime knew that he couldn't comment on this because his team would never really accept Brienne if he had to constantly protect her.

"Come on, Brienne, you can do it!" Renly shouted.

The girl turned around and her face immediately turned bright red when she noticed that it had been Renly who was cheering her on.

Loras, who was in the opposite team, turned around too but Jaime couldn't really place his annoyed facial expression.

Eventually Brienne managed to get the ball and she started sprinting towards the end zone.

For a second it seemed like Osmund was going to tackle her but she avoided him a lot more graceful than he could have ever imagined and she crossed the goal line.

"Touchdown!" Renly shouted "Brienne, Brienne!"

A smile appeared on Brienne's face while some of his team members complimented her.

Loras was the only one who didn't congratulate her and for a second Jaime thought he was glaring at Renly.

**Robb**

His mother was picking up the garbage from last night and putting it in a large trash bag while Robb was helping her clean up.

His eye was swollen and his arms were covered in bruises from the fight.

"I knew it" Cat said while picking up some plastic cups "I knew it from the moment I saw Cersei Lannister's smug face"

Robb didn't comment on his mother's conspiracy theories.

She had been accusing different people from the moment they had started to clean up the enormous mess.

"This reeks of the Lannisters" his mother said while waving with an almost completely burned piece of wooden dance floor "I told her not to trust that girl, but does anyone listen to me? No, of course not because apparently I'm talking to the walls around here!"

"They say the attackers were wearing KRAKEN shirts" Robb said softly because he felt the need to help his sister.

Catelyn dropped the piece of wood and for a second he thought she was going to start laughing.

"Of course, it's Theon!" she said "of course it's the same kid who pressured you into smoking and drinking and who completely wrecked your car! I hope Stannis expels him and that you never have to see him again. Oh I really regret not pressing charges now!"

Robb felt horrible.

He didn't want to believe that Theon would do something like that but he couldn't ignore the facts either.

"By the way, have you heard from Arya yet?" Robb asked his mother so they didn't have to talk about Theon anymore.

"Yes, she's with that friend of hers Gendry" Catelyn answered and she seemed to have calmed down again.

"Maybe I'll pay him a visit" Robb said smiling "They're always spending time together"

Cat shook her head with a vague smile on her face while she continued cleaning.

"Leave the poor girl alone" she said "I'd be happier if you were spending that much time with a nice girl, how's Roslin?"

A blush immediately spread across Robb's face.

His mother had set up a date for him with Roslin Frey a little while ago but he had called Roslin to tell her that he wasn't going to make it at the last moment.

His mother didn't know that he was already dating Talisa and he hadn't dared to tell her yet.

"Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about" Robb said carefully.

"What is it, dear?" his mother asked when she noticed that he was going to tell her something serious.

The doorbell rang before Robb could say something and he knew that that was going to be Talisa.

"I'll get it" he said but his mother followed him to the front door.

He opened the door for his girlfriend and he noticed that she was starting to show a little due to her tight dress.

"Mom, this is my girlfriend Talisa" he said awkwardly and he wrapped an arm around the girl.

"It's nice to meet you" Talisa said with a warm smile.

Catelyn seemed to be very surprised but she managed to smile at the girl nevertheless.

"Nice to meet you too, Talisa, even though this is not the best of times" she said "Robb, I thought you were dating Roslin Frey?"

Robb could easily detect his mother's accusing tone and he turned red.

"I never went on that date with Roslin, mom, I already love Talisa" he said and the brunette smiled at him.

Catelyn sighed and she rubbed her forehead.

"Walder won't be too pleased with that" Catelyn said "Do you think those kids from last night could be her family?"

"If they were working for Theon then they couldn't have been" Robb said but he didn't want to stray too much from the original subject.

"No, but Cersei has an aunt who married a Frey" Catelyn muttered and she bit her lip.

Talisa gave him a confused look.

He hadn't told her about the attack yet but that would have to wait a little longer.

Robb put his hand on Talisa stomach and he gave her an encouraging smile.

"Actually there's something else we have to tell you" Robb said.

"What is it?" his mother asked looking from Talisa to Robb.

"Talisa is pregnant" he told his mother with a huge smile.

Catelyn hadn't never looked so angry before in her entire life.

"How could you two be so stupid?" she asked them with clenched fists "how are you guys going to go to college with a kid?"

"Actually I'm already in college" Talisa said softly "I'm studying medicine but my parents kicked me out of the house"

"Can she stay here?" Robb asked his mother carefully "it's my responsibility after all"

Catelyn rubbed her forehead again and Robb couldn't remember ever disappointing his mother before.

"Of course!" she said "because apparently Winterfell is an inn now! Lannisters can stay here, Greyjoys can stay here! What do I care?"

Catelyn noticed that Talisa was close to tears and her facial expression softened.

"I'm sorry, this is just the worst time ever" Cat said in a softer voice "of course, you can stay here"

**Tyrion**

Tyrion noticed someone singing in the dining room and when he walked in he noticed his sister singing and dancing with the plates while she was setting the table.

The dining table was large and luxurious just like most rooms in Casterly Rock but they barely used this one.

It was too much of a hassle to eat here when it was just him and his siblings so they usually ate in the kitchen.

"Hello, little brother!" she said happily and she kissed him on both cheeks.

He could smell the alcohol on his sister's breath but that wasn't a strange thing.

The strange thing however was that she had just kissed him on his cheeks while she normally refused to even touch him.

"Why are you smiling so much?" he asked her and he couldn't deny that it was creeping him out.

Cersei was never this happy unless she was hurting someone somehow.

"Because I'm happy!" she said laughing while she twirled around and put the last plate down.

"And why are you happy?" he asked her "except from the fact that you've been drinking but that isn't an unusual thing"

She laughed again and it sounded like the tingling of little bells and Tyrion wondered if this was the Cersei she used to show exclusively to Jaime.

"You're funny, aren't you?" she asked while she picked up her wine glass again "you've always been oh so funny"

"It's a gift" Tyrion said while he sat down at the dining table.

Cersei sat down across from him and she looked at him for awhile while she swirled her wine in her glass.

"I'm happy because I've won" she said and her green eyes burned like wildfire "The Starks' party was a disaster and no one will be able to blame me for it"

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

Tyrion had heard of the attack his sister had planned with the Freys and Roose Bolton's son.

She thought it was very clever of them to blame it on Theon but everyone with half a brain could see that he didn't do it.

Sure Tyrion believed that the boy was jealous of the Starks especially if you considered how horrible his own family was but if he had attacked the Starks then they would have known it.

Theon had always liked bragging about his accomplishments.

Tyrion had seen him do just that many times before during P.E.

"Yes, I'm sure" she said and her smile disappeared from her face "and now she will never be crowned Prom Queen and I will be, just like things are supposed to go"

"And you're willing to destroy a girl's life for a stupid title?" he asked his sister.

Cersei laughed again but it sounded nothing like little bells anymore.

"You win or you die, little brother, there is no middle ground" she said.

Tyrion felt sick hearing his sister say something like that.

Sansa Stark might be a naive girl but she didn't deserve what Cersei had put her through and he knew that his sister would do it all over again if she got the chance.

"You're a horrible, spoiled, little brat" he told her.

"And you're a dwarf" she said before finishing her wine "by the way, how is Shae?"

He wanted to strangle his older sister until her smug smile disappeared from her face for good.

She had always enjoyed the misfortune of others and it was time someone ended her tyranny.

"I will hurt you for this" Tyrion said "I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid."

He didn't wait for Cersei to reply and he left the dining room.

Tyrion knew that his sister wouldn't rest until she was crowned Prom Queen again but he would make sure that that would never happen.

But how?  
Margaery was as power scheming as Cersei even though she made a bigger effort to hide it and there was no way Sansa would still want to actively run for Prom Queen after this, besides the southern kids would vote for Margaery and the northern kids for Sansa so there was no way to be sure that one would succeed even after his effort.

Tyrion needed to find a neutral person.

A girl who wasn't from the north or the south and a girl no one had a strong opinion of yet.

A girl who could inspire people to vote for her.

Tyrion didn't know anyone like that but there was something he had to do first if he wanted this girl to be nominated he needed to find someone from the AV club to do so.

He checked his phone to see if he still had Jon Snow's phone number and a smile appeared on his face.

Cersei would never know what hit her.


	12. Chapter 12

Day 12: Rekindle the Flame

**Arya**

The group of teenagers at the Hollow Hill were laughing and chatting while they ate their breakfast and the whole room smelled of bacon and toast.

The members of the Forgotten Fellowship hadn't eaten this well in a while and Arya was happy that she and Jaqen were able to make a difference by going to the large supermarket.

She did feel a bit guilty for stealing but there really was no other way for them to get food since no one would hire a teenager like them.

She looked around the room and smiled when she realized how many of them she had already got to know.

There were runaways of every kind at the Hollow Hill.

Arya knew that a few of them had run away from home because of their abusive parents or because they had been kicked out of the house after having a baby and others had settled down at the Hollow Hill after moving from place to place for years.

She wondered why Edric lived at the Hollow Hill but she guessed that it was a combination of feeling lonely and wanting to help other people.

Arya put her hand in her pocket to check if the coin Jaqen had given to her was still there.

His departure had come as a surprise to her.

He had asked her to meet him outside of the Hollow Hill and she had followed him.

"_A man is sad to leave, but if a girl needs a friend she only has to give this to a Braavosi and help will come"_

Suddenly he had kissed her and he pressed the coin into her hand.

"_Valar morghulis"_ he had whispered before leaving.

She repeated the words in her head over and over again and she wondered what they could mean.

Arya didn't think she would ever get the chance to ask Jaqen what it had meant though because there goodbye had seemed definite.

She walked back to Sandor's corner and sat down on the bed.

He was doing sit-ups and he avoided making eye contact with her.

"Still thinking of leaving?" she asked him while she got Needle from her pocket and she started to flick the butterfly knife open again.

"Yes" he said "and you should leave too"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"You know..." she started carefully "you never told me what was up with you and Joffrey"

Sandor stopped working out and put his shirt back on after spraying some deodorant on himself.

She didn't think he was going to answer her question but strangely enough he did.

"My family invested in LannisCorp a long time ago when it was just being founded by the Lannisters" Sandor said while rummaging through his backpack so he didn't have to make eye contact with her "someone bought that stock as soon as the company started to become profitable of course, but when my grandfather's business almost went bankrupt Tywin returned the favour, some bullshit about Lannisters paying their debts of course"

Sandor picked up his bottle of water and drank some before continuing.

She could see that he didn't like to tell the story because Sandor was someone who would never ask someone else for help even if his company was going bankrupt.

"My family was thrilled of course and now every time the Lannisters throw a party or something like that we get the honour of sitting at the table which is the furthest away from theirs" Sandor said "that's why I've known Joffrey since he was a kid"

Arya knew what kind of parties he was talking about.

She had always hated it when her parents had a lot of their high-class friends over.

She remembered that one time at Robert Baratheon's birthday party she had thrown food on Sansa while using her spoon as a catapult.

Her mother had grounded her for that but the look on Sansa and Jeyne's face had made it all worth it.

"When Joffrey was a kid was he all ready such a..." she started before Sandor finished her sentence.

"Royal prick? Yes, definitely" Sandor said and they both started laughing.

She realized that she had never heard him laughing before.

Arya opened her mouth to say something but suddenly something happened.

Bright blue and red light shone through the cracks of the boarded up windows and they could heard the loud noises of police cars.

"The cops!" she could hear someone shout "run!"

**Sansa**

Sansa was sitting on a pile of pillows in the bay window seating while she rested her head against the cool window.

The sun had just started to rise and she was still wearing her little, blue pyjama dress.

There were large bags under her eyes and she hadn't slept at all since her party.

If she closed her eyes she could still hear the people scream.

She would be crying if she didn't feel like she had done that too much already but somehow she wasn't sad anymore.

She felt empty and maybe even a bit angry.

Sansa knew that Cersei must have had something to do with what happened.

She should have listened to her family and she shouldn't have trusted the Lannisters.

They never did anything without wanting something in return.

Cersei, Margaery and Joffrey had been the first people to flee inside of the house and they would have locked the door when she was still outside if Margaery hadn't stopped them.

She thought she had even seen Cersei smile for a moment.

Sansa shivered and she got up from her seat to put on a cardigan.

The hair pin Margaery had given her was laying on her vanity and she smiled when she saw it.

It had been a really nice gift and she couldn't wait to wear it even though she didn't think she would have the opportunity to any time soon.

She heard someone knock on her bedroom door and her mother entered her room.

"Oh Sansa" her mother said softly "did you sleep at all last night?"

Sansa shook her head.

"Oh what are we going to do?" her mother asked her and she seemed to have aged a bit over the past few days.

"I don't know" Sansa said shrugging and she hugged her mother.

"Your party should have gone perfect" Cat said "you were looking forward to it for so long"

Sansa bit her lip to keep herself from crying again.

"I know" she said "I wanted it to be perfect"

She noticed that her mother was crying when she let go off her and Catelyn quickly wiped away her tears.

"The garden is clean again" her mother said "so I guess that's a start"

Sansa smiled at her mother and she was glad that Catelyn hadn't made her help cleaning the garden.

She didn't think she would have been able to.

Suddenly she noticed that her mother had placed an envelope on her vanity.

"What's this?" she asked while she picked it up.

"Oh you'll never believe it" Catelyn said crossing her arms in front of her chest "Lysa is getting married to Petyr"

Sansa couldn't believe it indeed.

She had never imagined that her aunt would marry again and especially not to Little Finger.

"I don't get why she's doing this" Cat said "I'm a hundred percent certain that the minute something happens to Ned, Petyr will be at our doorstep asking me for my hand all over again!"

Sansa couldn't help but chuckled at that.

"Mom, if I didn't know better I would say that you're jealous" she said with a cheeky smile.

"Oh please!" Cat said "I just don't want her to get hurt again"

Sansa shook her head while her smile wouldn't disappear from her face.

She had never been to a wedding before but just like every girl she had dreamed of hers for as long as she could remember.

"Are we going, mom?" Sansa asked Catelyn.

"I don't know" Cat said biting her lip "it's a bit short notice and I don't really want to either"

"When is the wedding?" she asked.

Catelyn sighed.

"Next Sunday" she said "apparently they can't wait any longer to get married"

A wedding would be the perfect distraction for Sansa.

"I really want to go, mom!" Sansa said.

Catelyn sighed again but she wasn't going to tell Sansa that she couldn't go to her aunt's wedding.

"Fine" she said "Lysa did say that she would love it if you would want to be one of the bridesmaids"

"Really?!" Sansa said smiling.

Being a bridesmaid would be amazing.

"I'll go call Lysa then" Catelyn said with a smile and she left the bedroom again.

**Jon**

Jon was laying in Ygritte's bed while she rested her head on his chest.

Her red hair lay spread out over the pillow like a fiery flame while the afternoon sun shone through the small window in her bedroom.

He had never felt so peaceful before like he did right then underneath her white sheets.

She breathed softly and she had closed her pretty eyes.

He admired her face which he loved like nothing else.

He liked everything from the freckles on her cheeks to her adorable pug nose.

"What are you staring at?" she asked still sleepy even though it was already noon.

"You" he said and he pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"Stop it" Ygritte chuckled without opening her eyes and she shoved him playfully.

He took hold of the hand which she had used for that and pressed a kiss on her knuckles.

Ygritte chuckled and rolled on top of him with her knees on either side of his hips.

She pinned him against the bed and kissed him.

"So what are we going to do today?" she asked him while she started to move her hips.

"I already told you that Tyrion Lannister was going to come over" he said but she was distracting him "so we can't do this right now"

Ygritte bended over and kissed his neck.

"Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Yes" he moaned but he didn't really want her to stop.

He knew that he was going to give in if he didn't stop her now and that would be very awkward when Tyrion did arrive.

Ygritte gave him a hurt look and he used this moment of weakness to get off the bed.

"Jon Snow, come back here!" Ygritte said with her hands on her hips.

"Come on, don't make this so hard for me" Jon said "you know that I promised to meet up with him"

Ygritte crossed her arms in front of her chest while she frowned at him and watched him get dressed.

She sighed when she noticed that she wasn't going to get her way and she put on one of his shirts.

"I'll go make coffee" she said while she walked away from him in his blue shirt which barely covered her ass.

"Tea?" he asked her hopefully.

"Forget it"

He laughed to himself while he followed her into the kitchen.

Apparently they had just gotten up at the right moment because the doorbell rang.

Jon Snow opened the front door and he was once more grateful for the fact that Ygritte's friends hadn't stayed over last night.

She had told him that Styr and Orell lived at her apartment too but this wasn't entirely true.

There was an unspoken rule among Ygritte's friends from the orphanage which meant that they could stay at someone's house without asking it first.

Ygritte even admitted that she wasn't sure who did and who did not own a spare key to her apartment.

Tyrion Lannister was just like Jon remembered him: short and blonde with a pair of mismatched eyes.

Jon didn't trust the Lannisters but he had to admit that he did trust Tyrion.

Tyrion was a few years older than Jon and he had given him a tour of the school during the freshman information day.

Everyone had been talking about the AV club as if it was the most prestigious group of people in their school but in reality they were only doing this because there weren't enough members and they were afraid that they would have to close the club.

Tyrion had been the only one who told him that joining the AV club wasn't the best possible move if you were concerned about popularity, of course the club had changed a lot since he joined but he still appreciated it.

"Good to see you, Tyrion" Jon said awkwardly "come in"

He wasn't really sure what he had to say to Tyrion since he didn't know him that well so he offered him some coffee instead.

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked.

"Sure" Tyrion said who seemed a lot more comfortable than Jon himself.

Ygritte had to reach a bit so she could get the third mug from the highest cupboard and Tyrion smiled at Jon as if he wanted to say "nice job"

Jon blushed a bit while Ygritte handed them both some coffee and hopped onto a counter top while holding the third mug.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Jon asked him.

"As you know my sister is running for Prom Queen" Tyrion said.

Jon nodded while he drank some of his coffee.

He never liked its bitter taste but Ygritte didn't drink tea.

"I've set up the section on the school's website where you can nominate people and vote for them" Jon said.

"Exactly" Tyrion said and a small smile appeared on his face "so it wouldn't be too hard for you to make sure that a fourth girl is nominated, right?"

"Don't look at me!" Ygritte said loudly "I don't do pageants"

Tyrion smiled and he drank some of his coffee.

He didn't seem to have a problem with the bitter taste.

"I think that you'd agree with me if I told you that Cersei's tyranny has to be stopped" Tyrion said "we need someone else on the throne, someone people listen to and who really wants to help them"

Jon thought about it for a little while but he didn't know if he was ready to mess with the system.

"I'm not asking you to cheat so this girl can win, I only want her to be nominated" Tyrion said "someone who everyone can rally behind, not just the north and not just the south"

"Someone new" Jon said with a smile and he knew exactly who would be cut out for the job.

**Jeyne**

The bonfire burned and crackled while Melisandre said her prayer and asked R'hllor to bring back the dawn.

No one was really listening though.

Once a month Stannis organized a large bonfire so the students of their school could get together and worship R'hllor even though most students didn't even believe in the Red Faith.

Jeyne officially worshipped the Old Gods but she had not been to a Godswood in a long time.

Just like Sansa she preferred the septs of the Seven but too be honest there weren't many people who truly believed in any God at all anymore.

The only reason why people came to Stannis' fires was the fact that it was another excuses to have a party and try to sneak in alcohol.

Jeyne was sure that Stannis would immediately stop these gatherings if he knew about half the stuff that really went on after Melisandre said her prayer.

She shivered while the wind tugged at her short dress and she was grateful for the fire.

Ramsay hugged her from behind and nuzzled her neck.

She would have loved that a few days ago but now every touch startled her.

The cut on her cheekbone hadn't completely healed yet but she had buried it underneath several layers of make-up.

There were bruises all over her legs and arms from when he had pinned her to the wall and later to his bed.

She told herself not to think about that because she might start to cry all over again.

He hated it when she cried or when she told him something hurt too much.

Jeyne heard him make some kind of comment about Stannis, who was watching Melisandre with his usual solemn face, and his friends laughed with him.

_They're just as afraid as I am,_ she thought bitterly.

She really was afraid for her own life and Theon's.

Ramsay didn't make threats he wasn't willing to follow through.

Jeyne didn't know anyone who could help her.

She could only think of one person Ramsay might listen to which was his father Roose but Roose was even colder than his son.

The man had heard her cry and scream and he had seen her leave his house covered in bruises and he had done nothing about it.

She looked around to see who had showed up and who hadn't.

Jeyne didn't see any of the Starks, except for Jon and his ginger girlfriend, and she didn't see the Lannister twins either.

Margaery and Joffrey were present though and she thought she had seen Tyrion too somewhere.

She noticed that the crowd suddenly went quiet and when she turned her head to see what was going on she saw Theon.

Melisandre coughed once in an attempt to regain the attention she had never really had and she continued her seemingly endless speech.

Theon was wearing his favourite leatherjacket but he still looked different than usual without his smile.

"Look everyone, Theon Turncloak, has showed up too" she heard someone say and the students surrounding the fire laughed nervously at that.

Theon didn't respond to that and he walked to his friends.

She could see that the group of friends, which he shared with Robb, shot each other nervous looks while they tried to decide if they were or were not going to let him join them.

Jeyne bit her lip and she wanted to run to him and wrap her arms around his neck while she told him that she knew he hadn't done it.

Ramsay's held her a little closer as if he had read her mind and she banished the thought.

**Theon**

Theon stayed quiet during Melisandre's prayer and his friends didn't talk to him either.

He had always known that they were really Robb's friend all those Glovers, Umbers and Manderlys but it still stung a little.

He didn't really know why he had gone to the fire, maybe it was because he had wanted to show them that he didn't care what they thought of him but too be honest he did care.

They all thought he was a Turncloak and they were afraid to even be seen with him.

Theon couldn't deny that he had been jealous of Robb before.

Robb seemed to have it all: a loving family and real friends.

Robb knew exactly where he stood and what was expected of him.

He would graduate from high school and go to some kind of prestigious university and afterwards he would start working at Baratheon Industries just like his father had done.

He would marry a nice girl and they would have a nice little family together.

They would live the perfect white fence dream while Theon was still trying to figure out who he really was.

Theon knew that his father didn't really want him to work at KRAKEN even though he had never told him so.

He didn't know if he even wanted to work there either but it stung that his father had already made up his mind about the fact if he would be capable of doing so.

Melisandre had finally concluded her prayer and someone started the music.

He didn't feel like staying.

Theon didn't want to give them the pleasure of laughing at how lonely he must look without Robb.

He muttered a goodbye to his friends but they kept pretending that they couldn't hear him and he walked away from them and the open space in the forest where the bonfire was held.

The clearing wasn't too far from the road but it provided a nice secluded environment which was perfect for something like the fires of the Red Faith.

"Where are you going?" someone asked from behind him.

Theon sighed and turned around.

"What do you want?" he asked him in a tired voice.

He really wasn't looking forward to having to deal with Ramsay now.

He just wanted to go home and forget about what had happened.

"I told you we weren't finished yet" Ramsay said.

"Listen, I don't give a shi-..." Theon started before someone hit him hard on the back of his head.

He collapsed onto the ground but two rough hands pulled him up by his collar so his upper body was erect while he was still on his knees.

"Alyn , Grunt, don't let him get away" Ramsay instructed and the two boys twisted his arms behind his back.

He tried to get back on his feet but Grunt kicked him down again.

"Ramsay, stop it!" he heard Jeyne shout and he noticed her for the first time.

She was crying and she tried to run to him but a boy, who he thought was called Damon, stopped her and harshly grabbed her arm.

Ramsay went down on one knee in front of him and looked at Theon with squinted eyes.

"Do you think he's handsome?" he asked Jeyne suddenly.

"Stop, please, I'm begging!" Jeyne cried.

A smile appeared on Ramsay's face.

"Wrong answer, love" he said and he punched Theon in the face.

His nose made a terrifying cracking noise and he feared it was broken.

Ramsay hit him again and again until his world existed only of pain and blood and the inevitable truth that he was going to be hit harder next time.

His eye was swollen when Ramsay finally stopped hitting him and Theon spit out one of his teeth.

There was a cut above his eyebrow and blood kept trickling down into his right eye which was the only one he was able to use right then.

Jeyne had kept screaming while Ramsay had hit him but no one had come to help them.

Apparently the students at the fire couldn't hear them because their music was too loud and they were too far away.

Theon didn't want to cry but the pain was unbearable and every inch of his body hurt.

"Fucking Freak" Ramsay said when he looked at the little pool of blood which Theon had spit out along with his tooth.

Suddenly Ramsay's pale eyes flickered.

He got back on his feet again and walked to Jeyne who immediately tried to hit him with her tiny, pale fists.

Ramsay was too strong for her though and he easily took hold of her wrists so she couldn't hit him again.

"Kiss him" he said still smiling that evil smile of his.

"What?" Jeyne asked surprised and terrified and she turned even paler than usual.

"That's what you wanted, right?" Ramsay asked "you little slut"

He pushed her in Theon's direction and she fell down on her knees in front of him.

"_You don't have to do this" _he wanted to tell her but the only noise he managed to make was a soft whimpering sound.

Jeyne looked at him with big, scared brown eyes while she wiped away some of the blood on his face with her pale hand.

The delicate touch of her cold hand seemed almost soothing but everything would have felt that way after a beating.

She looked so pale that she seemed to glow and he noticed that there was a cut on her cheekbone.

"Do it _now_!" Ramsay shouted and she flinched at his words.

Then she delicately pressed her lips on his bleeding and cracked ones.

It was almost cruel how her lip-gloss tasted of raspberries and he almost didn't noticed how much it hurt when she touched him.

He felt so sorry for Jeyne who had to touch him while he was laying on the ground covered in blood and mud and cold sweat.

It was Ramsay's plan of course to humiliate them like that, to show them that he was in control.

"Was it like you imagined?" Ramsay asked Jeyne with that same smile on his face "was it all you've ever dreamed of? Did it make you wet?"

"No!" Jeyne shouted crying and shaking.

"Good" Ramsay said and his smile disappeared "let that be a lesson for you, you're mine okay? And I don't even want to see you near anyone else, Jeyne, you just can't be trusted"

"I'm sorry" she whispered and Theon thought for a second that she was talking to him instead of Ramsay "I'll be good now, I promise"


	13. Chapter 13

Day 13: Making the Cut

**Arya**

Arya was picking straw of her pants while Sandor was gathering their stuff.

She hadn't slept at all last night because the adrenaline and the screeching of the pigs in the barn next to theirs had kept her awake.

Sandor and she had fled the Hollow Hill as soon as the cops had arrived.

They had ended up at the barn by accident.

Arya had done nothing else than following Sandor while they climbed over fences, ran through people's gardens and accidently, or not so accidently, knocked over stupid little garden gnomes until they left the city.

They ran through a few open fields while sticking close to the river and eventually they had ended up at a farm.

They had picked the lock on the barn filled with haystacks and thanked the Gods that no one had followed them.

"So where are we going now?" she asked Sandor softly.

He shrugged and tossed her a sandwich.

Arya was suddenly grateful for the fact that Sandor had been planning to leave anyway which meant they at least had some food and water.

"I want to go home" she said softly while her splitting headache didn't want to go away.

She drank some of the water but she was afraid to waste it.

Arya had never been afraid of something like that before.

She really did miss her family though and she wondered if they missed her too.

She tried to check her phone but the battery had died yesterday and her charger was still at Winterfell.

The only thing she could hope for was that Gendry had decided to cover for her until she was able to make her way back.

"You can't go home" Sandor said "the cops were at the Hollow Hill because you and Jaqen stole from that supermarket and you stole a lot"

"You guys steal all the time" she said.

Sandor laughed bitterly at that while he put his jacket back on.

"There's a reason why we stole from those little shops" he said "because they don't have a fucking security system"

Arya turned as white as a sheet.

Arya hadn't heard an alarm go off when they opened the door so she had figured that there wasn't any security at all.

She hadn't even thought of the possibility that there could have been security cameras hanging from the ceiling in the supermarket.

"Shit, do you think they have my face on camera?" she asked him while her heart pounded in her chest.

Sandor shrugged again while he put his backpack on.

"They've must have had some idea of what you look like" Sandor said "there are cameras on every corner of every street in that neighbourhood so they probably found some images that matched that description which is how they were able to follow you and Jaqen back to the Hollow Hill"

Arya rested her head in her hands and she didn't know what to do.

"So I can't go home or they'll find me" she said.

"We're just going to have to lay low for a while until the whole thing blows over" Sandor said "I'd might take a few weeks though"

Arya looked up again and into the disfigured face of her new friend.

"We?" she asked carefully.

"Yeah, well you followed me there so I'm responsible" he said shuffling his feet "not that I really care though..."

She couldn't help but smile at how hard Sandor was trying to hide the fact that he did care about some people.

"Thanks" she said and he actually blushed.

"If only we had a place to go" Sandor said sighing.

Arya thought for awhile while she bit her lip.

"My unlce Brynden lives somewhere around here" she said carefully "maybe we could stay there for just a little while"

"Would he take us in?" Sandor asked.

Arya nodded.

Her uncle would never turn down a family member and he was also the one person she could think of that would relate to her the most.

He was the "Black Sheep" of House Tully or the "Black Fish" as he had jokingly started to call himself and she felt like she wasn't what her family had wanted her to be either.

She just hoped that he wouldn't ask too many questions about why she ran away from home but she didn't think she had another choice.

**Sansa**

Sansa was a bit nervous when she walked to her student councillor's office.

She had known Little Finger for almost her entire life but somehow she had always felt a little bit uneasy in his presence.

Maybe it had something to do with the way he would sometimes look at her or with the fact that she knew he never stopped loving her mother even though she married someone else.

She hesitantly knocked on the green door with the silver name plate on it saying: "Petyr Baelish".

Someone opened the door for her but it wasn't Little Finger.

It was a tall girl with short black hair and beautiful blue eyes.

She was wearing jeans and a vintage t-shirt with the title of an old movie on it.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a slightly rude voice.

Sansa thought she looked like the kind of person who didn't have time for idle chitchat and for a second she didn't know what to say.

"Uhm... I'm here to see Professor Baelish" she said.

The girl's facial expression softened.

"He'll be back any minute now" she said "come in"

Sansa followed the girl into the small office.

The office was filled with cardboard boxes and she could see that they were packing Little Finger's stuff.

"I'm Mya, by the way" the girl said while she continued alphabetically sorting books into different boxes.

"I'm Sansa" she said and she went up to Mya to help her.

The girl gave her a confused look when Sansa picked up a few books but gave her a shy smile when she noticed that she was just helping her sort them.

"Thanks" Mya said "I've been packing stuff for hours now and I don't even want to think about the fact that I'm going to be the one who has the unpack everything again when we get to the Eyrie"

Sansa had never been at the Eyrie before herself but she knew what it looked like.

It was a large glass office building and it was considered one of the most beautiful and modern constructions of their time.

"Why is Professor Baelish going to the Eyrie?" Sansa asked but she thought she already knew the answer.

"He's going to work for Lysa of course now they're getting married" Mya said sighing "I've been her assistant for two years now so I wasn't expecting to be passed off to her husband when she called me into her office this morning"

A blush immediately spread across Mya's face when she realized that she had probably said too much.

She didn't want to say bad things about her boss even though she was mad at her and Sansa could appreciate that.

Suddenly the door opened and Petyr entered the office.

"Sansa, dear, what a surprise!" he said smiling and he put his Starbucks coffee on top of a pile of books which Mya had just sorted.

Sansa believed she saw Mya shoot Petyr a dirty look before she walked out of the office with two boxes to put them in Little Finger's car.

"I just came to congratulate you on the fact that you're getting married to my aunt" Sansa said smiling.

"Oh how considered of you, Sansa" Petyr said "I guess that means you're coming then?"

Sansa nodded.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to miss it" she said "especially since my aunt wanted me to be a bridesmaid"

Petyr drank some of his coffee without taking his eyes of her.

"Actually it was me how proposed that idea to Lysa" Little Finger said "I had hoped it would persuade your mother to come too, I'm afraid that she has gotten the wrong idea about Lysa and me"

Sansa shook her head and forced herself to smile.

"Not at all" Sansa said "it just came so unexpectedly and there's a lot going on in our family recently"

"Yes, I've heard about your party, it's truly horrible" Petyr said and his voice was full compassion even though she didn't know if he meant it "If you ever need someone to talk to you know where to find me"

"Thank you" Sansa said smiling but she didn't know if she could trust him yet.

**Renly**

Renly walked through the empty hallway while carrying a large pile of papers he had graded during the weekend and he tried to open the door to his classroom without dropping them.

"Let me help you, Professor" he heard someone say and Brienne opened the door for him.

"Thank you, Brienne" he said smiling and he entered the classroom.

Renly put the stack of papers on his desk and sat down in his office chair.

He turned on his computer so he could prepare for his next lesson when he noticed that Brienne had followed him into the classroom.

She was still standing near the door though and she was pretending to be looking at a drawing on the wall.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked the girl.

A blush immediately spread across Brienne's freckled face.

"Well it's just...I was wondering if..." Brienne said awkwardly "I was just wondering if you were going to come to the second tryout day"

He wasn't expecting her to say something like that but he was flattered that she wanted him there.

Renly had cheered her on during the tryout because he wanted to give her the courage to give it her all and apparently she had appreciated that.

"I could if you want me to" he said shrugging.

"Really?" she asked him and her face lit up "that would mean a lot to me"

She reminded him a bit of his niece Shireen.

They had both not been blessed with the best looks except for their blue eyes and they were both kind and sweet.

"Of course" Renly said smiling "I'll be there, don't worry"

Brienne finally had the courage to walk to his desk while she smiled shyly.

"Thank you" she said looking at his desk instead of him "and I also wanted to thank you again for helping me out when Hyle stole my backpack"

"It's nothing" Renly said "someone needs to stop does bullies and put them in their place"

Brienne bit her lip and he could see that she was playing with a corner of one of the papers on his desk.

"It's just that..." she said frowning "It's just that I'm not really _pretty_ and, I mean that's okay, but that's why they pick on me so much"

She said the last thing shrugging as if it wasn't important and as if she didn't really care about it but he could see that it was really bothering her.

"Who says you're not pretty?" Renly said "you can't let them get to you, they're just saying that because they know it will hurt you"

Brienne started blushing again while she smiled shyly.

He knew that Brienne wasn't the prettiest girl at their school but that didn't mean that she had to feel like that too.

Renly had always been popular in high school but he still knew what it was like to feel like you had to be ashamed of yourself just for being yourself.

He had kissed a boy once during a high school party and they had started dating in secret but one time when a jock called Renly a fag his "boyfriend" laughed the loudest of all of them.

Renly broke up with him that same day.

He thought he had seen on facebook that the boy was now engaged to some girl but he wondered how long that would really last.

Suddenly the classroom door opened again and Loras walked in who shot Renly an accusing look after seeing Brienne.

"I have to go" Brienne said after seeing the look on Loras' face "I'll see you at the tryouts, Professor Renly"

Brienne closed the door behind her and Loras crossed his arms in front of his chest while he raised his eyebrows at Renly.

"What was she doing here?" Loras asked annoyed.

"You're cute when you're jealous" Renly said and he couldn't help but smile.

"I'm not jealous, okay?" Loras said and his face reddened a little bit.

Renly got up from his chair and wrapped his arms around Loras.

"I love you" he whispered against Loras' soft curls "you don't have to question that ever"

"I won't" Loras said and his expression softened "I love you too"

**Cersei**

Cersei was sitting at the popular table surrounded by her court as she liked to call her other popular friends.

Margaery was sitting to her left next to her friends Elinor, Alla and Megara and Osney Kettleblack was sitting to Cersei's right.

His brothers were sitting at the other side of the table next to Jaime even though he hadn't spoken a word yet.

Aurane Waters was sitting at their table too after Cersei had invited him just that morning.

She knew he had wanted to sit with them for a while now and since it was the day they would announce the nominees for Prom Queen she had felt especially generous.

Cersei couldn't wait until Stannis would call her and Jaime's name.

They always said their names last to give them more emphasis and every year she had been showered in congratulations afterwards

It would be a great way to put everyone in their places again especially Sansa Stark and her stupid little party.

Cersei couldn't help but smile at Sansa's misfortune.

Sansa had tried to use Margaery and her to become more popular but no one uses Cersei Lannister.

She was the queen of their school and she was in control and she didn't care if she had to screw some people over to maintain that position.

It was the natural hierarchy of high school and just like the lion, a Lannister was always on top.

They heard the three usual mechanical tones coming from the speakers in the corners of the cafeteria which meant there was going to be an announcement.

Without realizing it she took hold op Osney's hand while Stannis started talking.

"_As you know Prom isn't too far away and after counting your votes we have officially selected the nominees for Prom King and Queen"_

Stannis' voices sounded even more strained than usual due to the speakers but Cersei didn't care.

She was too excited to care about anything that did not have to do with Prom.

She had voted for herself and Jaime as soon as the voting section of their school's website was uploaded.

Too be honest Cersei didn't even know which other couples were nominated because she hadn't bothered to check.

She didn't think anyone would be able to beat them after she had eliminated Sansa.

"_The first couple is: Robb and Sansa Stark"_

The students in the cafeteria applauded modestly.

Cersei had expected that Sansa was still going to be nominated but she wasn't worried about her being any competition.

She almost laughed when she thought about the next unfortunate couple on Stannis' list which had to compete against her and Jaime.

"_The second couple is: Jaime and Cersei Lannister"_

Cersei's face fell and she didn't even notice the people congratulating her.

Why in the name of the Seven were they the second couple?!

Everyone knew that the third couple was the most likely to win.

She shot an angry look at the nearest speaker as if it was his fault.

"_The third couple is: Joffrey Lannister and Margaery Tyrell"_

"What the hells!" Cersei shouted but no one heard her since everyone was busy congratulating Margaery.

They were talking so loudly that they didn't even hear Stannis add that there was a fourth contestant for Prom Queen.

"Oh thank you so much guys!" Margaery said smiling "I never expected to be nominated"

Cersei bit hard on the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood to keep herself from yelling at Margaery.

She could barely believe that her friend had betrayed her like this.

Cersei promised to destroy Margaery and everything she had ever loved for this betrayal especially since she was trying to use her Joffrey against her.

The school bell rang and everyone left the cafeteria.

Cersei didn't go with them even though they asked her too.

She kept sitting in her seat while she dug her nails into the wooden table.

Jaime was the only one who had stayed in the cafeteria too and he was quietly watching her.

Suddenly she couldn't take it longer and she could feel tears burn in her eyes.

She always made sure that no one ever saw her cry.

Cersei was a lion of Casterly Rock and lions didn't cry but she couldn't help it this time.

She grabbed Jaime's arm and dragged him to the hallway and into a supply closet.

"What are you doing?" he asked before Cersei wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder.

"Oh Jaime" she whispered.

**Jaime**

Jaime had only seen his sister cry once which was when their mother died so at first he didn't know what to do.

He held her tight and stroked her soft, golden hair with his left hand.

"Jaime" she sobbed again "I'm scared"

"I'm here" he whispered "no one can hurt you"

Jaime knew why his sister was scared.

Being Prom Queen was her personality.

She had made it her biggest talent to hide her true self behind a mask of popularity and bitchiness but he knew that deep down she had the ability to truly love someone.

"I missed you" she said softly when she had calmed down a bit again.

"I missed you too" he just said and he had really missed her.

He had missed her sweet perfume and the touch of her soft, unblemished skin.

Jaime had missed looking into her emerald eyes which were so much like his own eyes and he had missed touching her golden hair which was so much like his own hair.

Jaime still thought of them as an unity and he hoped she still did the same too.

_We came into this world together_ they used to say.

"What if we lose this, Jaime" she said softly "we can't lose to Margaery Tyrell!"

"Would that be so bad?" he asked her.

Jaime wished his sister would give up on her sick obsession with things like being Prom Queen and he wished she would go to the beach with him again or to the forest near Casterly Rock.

"Yes, it would be!" she said and her green eyes flickered "we're Lannisters, we can't let Tyrells beat us!"

"Joffrey is a Lannister too" Jaime said.

"She will manipulate him and turn him against us, Jaime" Cersei said desperately.

Jaime had never liked Joffrey.

He was a twisted little boy and he had always been that way but Cersei failed to see this which was why he wasn't going to bring it up now.

"Oh Jaime" she said again and she wrapped her arms around him "I wish it could be just you and me forever"

"I would do anything to make that happen" he said softly and he meant it.

He wished he could keep Cersei away from her obsession and close to him for the rest of their lives but that simply wasn't possible.

"Really?" she asked and she traced his lips with her finger.

"Yes" he answered immediately.

"Then there's something I want to try" she said before pressing her lips on his.

They hadn't done anything like that since their mother had moved them to different bedrooms when they were just kids but it felt right somehow, how wrong it might actually be.

Her tongue touched his for a second and a shiver ran down his spine.

They were one and they were always meant to do be.

"I love you, Jaime" she moaned "never leave me"

"I won't" he said in-between kisses.

Her hands moved to his jeans and she unzipped them for him.

"Would you do anything for me?" she asked him looking at him with big, green eyes and he realized that even in the dim light of the supply closet she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"Anything" he answered.

"Even kick Loras off the football team?" she asked while slipping her hand into his underwear.

"Seven hells!" Jaime said and he quickly took a step back.

Cersei gave him a hurt look and she even looked a bit confused.

"So that's why you're doing this?" he asked her angrily.

"No, I do love you Jaime!" she said and he saw tears in her eyes again.

"You love no one but yourself" he said while zipping up his fly.

"Jaime!" she said again while she tried to grab his arm but he quickly left the supply closet with a broken heart.


	14. Chapter 14

Day 14: Being Exposed

**Renly**

Renly was on his way to Stannis' office just before the start of his first lesson that day.

Stannis had called him the night before and told him that they needed to talk about something very serious.

Renly guessed that it had something to do with the school's financial problems and he hoped this meant that Stannis had finally come to his senses.

He just couldn't save the school on his own and Renly hoped that Stannis had learned to accept that he needed help from time to time.

Renly knocked on the door to Stannis' office and Melisandre's voice told him to come in.

He sighed when he heard her voice.

The fact that his brother had called him himself had led him to believe that he was finally going to talk to Stannis without his secretary at his side.

He opened the door and Melisandre was sitting on Stannis' desk like he had expected her to.

She was smiling at him in a strange way, like a cat who had just found his prey.

"Sit down" Stannis said gesturing at the chair in front of his desk.

Renly sat down and looked at his older brother who looked even more serious than usual.

"What's going on?" Renly asked looking form Stannis' frown to Melisandre's terrifying smile.

"Never" Stannis started "Never in my career as head of this school have I been so ashamed of one of my employees as I am today"

Renly didn't know what his brother was talking about.

He hadn't done anything wrong, had he?  
"A romantic relationship with one of the students!" Stannis said almost shouting "have you lost your mind?!"

Renly turned as white as a sheet.

How did Stannis know about him and Loras?  
They had been very careful in- and outside of school.

"I can explain...!" Renly said quickly and he got up from his chair.

"She is sixteen, Renly!" Stannis shouted "sixteen!"

Renly didn't understand what Stannis was talking about.

Loras was definitely not a "she".

"She?" he asked confused.

"Yes, Brienne of Tarth" Melisandre said with a smile while she handed him a piece of paper "unfortunately her note to you ended up among the tests you handed back to the students"

He quickly read the note Brienne had wanted to give to him.

It was a sweet letter written by a girl who had obviously fallen in love for the first time.

Renly could see why Stannis and Melisandre had gotten the wrong idea about how well Brienne and he really knew each other after reading it.

He guessed that Brienne had placed it among the tests on his desk herself when she had visited him yesterday.

"I've never seen this letter before in my life" Renly said "and I'm definitely not in a romantic relationship with Brienne"

"Can you proof that?" Melisandre asked and he knew she didn't believe he loved Brienne either, she just liked to torture him "It sure seems like you are after reading this"

"No, I can't proof it" Renly said frustrated "you'll have to believe me on my word"

The thought of him and Brienne together was just too ridiculous.

There was no way that Stannis was going to fall for that, was he?  
"Then I'll have to fire you, Renly" Stannis said "we have to think of the school's name"

Renly didn't know if he was going to burst out into tears or into laughter.

Melisandre had brainwashed Stannis into believing everything she told him even if it was as stupid as this.

"I'm gay, I'm not even attracted to pretty girls!" Renly shouted and he felt relieved for a second until he saw Stannis' face.

"If what you have done wasn't bad enough, lying about something like this is" Stannis said "you're fired, Renly, I'm sorry but there is no other choice"

Renly got up from his chair and slammed the door behind him.

He wasn't going to let this rest, not in a million years.

**Daenerys**

"_As it seems we have a fourth nominee for Prom Queen... Daenerys Targaryen"_

The words kept echoing through her head while she searched her locker for her books.

She couldn't sleep last night.

She kept wondering why she was nominated.

Was it a prank because she was the new girl?

Or could there be something more to it?

Dany wasn't afraid to bet that most people didn't even recognize her name when Stannis announced it.

"So what do you think?" someone asked.

She closed her locker and noticed Jon Snow.

"What do I think about what?" she asked him annoyed.

"About being a nominee for Prom Queen" someone else said.

Daenerys had to admit that she didn't see him at first but she vaguely recognized the boy with the mismatched eyes as Tyrion Lannister.

It wasn't a face you'd be able to forget soon.

"It's a joke" she said shrugging "so it doesn't really matter what I think about it"

"A joke?" Tyrion asked while acting to be surprised and offended "She calls it a joke after all the trouble we went through!"

"We?" Jon asked laughing "I did all the work"

Tyrion pretended to be offended again.

"I was the one who came up with the plan in the first place" he said.

"And I was the one who decided we should pick Dany" Jon said.

Daenerys felt like she didn't really know what was going on.

"Okay, what did you two do?" she asked them with her hands on her hips.

"We nominated you" Jon said proudly and they both looked like they were expecting a reward of some kind.  
"And what made you think I wanted to be nominated?" she asked annoyed.

The two boys looked at each other awkwardly and Dany could see that that hadn't crossed their mind once.

"You don't?" Jon asked carefully.

Daenerys let out a loud sigh and tossed her silver hair.

"No, I just _love_ being made fun of by the entire school because no one is going to vote for me!" Dany said getting angry "You should have asked me if I wanted this before you nominated me!"

"Who says no one is going to vote for you?" Tyrion asked with a meaningful smile.

Dany didn't really want to answer that question because it was too embarrassing.

"Because they don't even know my name" she said softly.

"Which is perfect" Tyrion said "it means that we can present them with precisely the image we want them to have of you"

Dany bit her lip while she thought about what the Lannister boy had said.

"So you want me to pretend I'm someone else?" she asked him "You want me to pretend that I'm some perfect Barbie doll girl?"

Tyrion shook his head

"We have enough of those at our school and I can sense that the students are getting sick of those" he said "they want a strong woman they can rally behind, do you think you could be that?"

"Maybe" she said smiling at him while she let the thought run through her head.

"You'd be the best Prom Queen ever" Tyrion said with a cheeky smile.

Dany shook her head.

"Not a queen, a Khaleesi" she said thinking of Drogo.

...

...

"What?" Jon asked confused.

**Theon**

Theon was busy running a lap around the football field just like most of the boys in his P.E. class.

One of his eyes was still swollen and the cut above the other one was covered with an ugly scab.

There were bruises on his arms and he couldn't help but touch his new prosthetic tooth with his tongue because it still felt weird and foreign in his mouth.

He didn't even want to know how horrible he must look that day.

Theon could see that Cersei, Margaery and some other girls were playing volleyball on a different field and he had to admit that it didn't look like a friendly match anymore especially not when Cersei smashed a ball directly into Margaery's face.

Robb was helping some younger kids set up the equipment for high jumping and apparently he had decided that he was going to ignore Theon at all cost.

Two boys bumped into Theon's shoulder when they passed him and he knew that they were Ramsay's friends.

Theon was actually pretty good at running and sports but today he didn't feel like giving it his all since everything just hurt too much.

Even eating hurt due to his new tooth which had to replace the one Ramsay knocked out.

Theon had to admit that he was sad that his sister had gone back to college that weekend.

She was the only one he could think of who still talked to him.

The coach blew his whistled and told the boys that their lesson was finished and they could go back to the locker room.

Theon followed the rest of the boys back to the locker room and undressed in the corner as far away from Ramsay and his friends as possible.

He heard someone turn on the showers but Theon was planning on slipping away before someone noticed him.

He didn't want to give Ramsay the pleasure of finding him in a vulnerable position.

Theon noticed that most boys had gotten into the showers and he was just on his way to the door when Ramsay stopped.

"Don't you have to shower?" Ramsay asked him with a grin.

"Fuck off" Theon said with his hand on the doorknob.

"I think he has to shower, right boys?" Ramsay asked his friends.

Theon could hear them laughing.

"Yeah, he fucking stinks" one of Ramsay's friends said and they laughed even harder.

Theon turned the doorknob and was about to leave the room when Ramsay grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"He fucking _reeks_" Ramsay said.

Theon tried to push him off him but Ramsay's friends were there to help him.

They dragged Theon to the showers and pushed him against the wall while the ice cold water poured down on him.

"Isn't that a good name for him?" Ramsay asked his friends "Reek"

Theon struggled to escape from the two boys who were still holding him under the water.

"You're a fucking psychopath, _Snow_!" Theon shouted.

Everyone stopped laughing when they heard Theon call Ramsay by his real name.

Ramsay turned even paler than usual and there was something dark in his cold eyes.

Ramsay punched him in the balls while the two boys let go off him and he collapsed onto the ground with tears in his eyes.

Ramsay ripped open Theon's shirt and pressed his knife against Theon's wet skin.

"You'll pay for that, Reek" Ramsay said without any hint of his usual smile.

He dragged his knife across Theon's chest and his blood mixed with the water from the shower while it hurt like hell.

Theon felt tears burn in his eyes again but he didn't want to give in.

"What is your name?" Ramsay asked him while he made another cut just below the other one.

"Theon Greyjoy" he said.

Ramsay pushed the knife further into Theon's flesh and blood came pouring out.

He clenched his jaw while tears ran down his cheeks which was barely noticeable due to the water from the shower.

"What is your name?" Ramsay asked him again.

"Theon Greyjoy" he barely managed to say.

Ramsay stabbed his knife into the wound and Theon couldn't take the pain any longer.

His whole chest was covered in blood and even though he knew that Ramsay wasn't stupid enough to hurt him lethally, he felt like he was going to die nevertheless.

"Reek!" he shouted eventually "My name is Reek!"

"That's a good boy" Ramsay said laughing and he got back onto his feet.

Ramsay and his friends left the locker room and Theon behind.

He couldn't stand up because the pain was too much and he just laid there while the water poured down on him until he passed out.

**Robb**

Robb slammed the front door behind him and ran up the stairs with a huge smile on his face.

He opened the door to his bedroom, picked up Talisa who was sitting on his bed, twirled her around and kissed her.

"Why are you so happy?" she asked him slightly annoyed.

"I've been nominated for Prom King again!" Robb said still smiling.

Talisa shook her head and sat down on Robb's bed which was now covered in books about medicine.

"Are you serious right now?" she asked him very slowly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked her "aren't you at least a little bit happy for me?"

Talisa was about to throw one of her books at him before she realized that they were probably too valuable.

"I would be happy for you, Robb, if I didn't have to turn in a paper tomorrow about something I don't know shit about yet, if I didn't live in a house full of people who hate me and blame me for ruining your life and if I wasn't FUCKING PREGNANT!" she said shouting the last few words.

Then she broke down into tears and he realized how vulnerable she was right then.

He sat down next to her and held her while she cried.

"I love you, Talisa" he said and he pressed a kiss on her forehead "so if you want me to drop out of the competition then I will"

She looked up at him with big brown eyes filled with tears.

"No" she said softly "I don't want you to give up another thing for me"

He wiped away her tears and smiled at her.

"I would give up everything for you, Talisa" Robb said.

She shook her head and he realized that his words weren't comforting her.

"But I don't want you to give up anything" she said "I don't want to be a burden to you, I don't want to be the one who ruined your youth"

He shook his head with a sad smile.

"You're not a burden, okay?" he asked her "and I'm as much to blame for the fact that you're pregnant as you are, maybe even more"

She bit her lip while she thought about that.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked her.

Talisa nodded and she even smiled at him again.

"You're so sweet" she said "even after I yelled at you"

"You're going through a rough time" Robb said shrugging.

She bit her lip again and he saw a familiar twinkle in her eyes.

"So, Your Grace, when will we start making posters for your coronation?" she asked him with a cheeky smile.

"Whenever My Lady would like to" he answered with the same cheeky smile.

Talisa rolled her eyes at him.

"It would be so annoying if people still talked like that" she said.

"I don't know" Robb said shrugging "it has a certain ring to it"

She laughed at that and they both fell down on the bed.

Talisa snuggled up to him while he played with her hair.

"You're going to look so beautiful at Prom" he said softly.

"I'm going to look huge at Prom!" Talisa said.

"And you're still going to be the most beautiful girl there"

Talisa rolled her eyes at him again but she kissed him nevertheless.

**Cersei**

Cersei and Margaery walked into the shop where they had been with Sansa a few days ago.

Apart from the gowns they also had a section with more casual clothing and Cersei had bought almost all her clothes from there.

Cersei noticed that Margaery's nose was still a little bit swollen from when she had hit her with the volleyball and she couldn't help but smile.

She had pretended it was an accident of course but Cersei thought it was her biggest achievement as an athlete.

Too be honest she didn't really like working out and she only did it every once in a while to stay in shape.

Margaery was whistling while she searched the clothing racks for something pretty.

Cersei hated whistling because she immediately associated it with her little brother Tyrion.

Cersei and Margaery hadn't talked about Prom since she found out that Margaery was nominated and she couldn't wait to bring it up at the right moment.

She needed to bring it in such a way that everyone immediately saw what kind of a Turncloak Margaery really was but she knew that was going to be tough since Margaery had perfected the fake innocence look.

"This would look pretty on you" Margaery said and she showed her a tight red dress with a large zipper on the back.

Cersei did really like the dress and she hated it that she hadn't found it herself.

"Should I check if they have it in your size?" Margaery asked her friend.

"What size are you holding now?" Cersei asked her fake friend.

Margaery checked the label.

"It's a size four" Margaery said "I'll see if they have it in a larger size"

_Larger size?_

"No, this will be fine" Cersei said and she snatched the dress from Margaery's hands.

She went into the changing room and closed the curtain before Margaery could protest.

Cersei put the red dress on and noticed that it was indeed a bit tight but she could make it work.

She looked into the mirror and admired her reflection.

Cersei could just imagine herself walking into school while wearing that dress and she was sure everyone would look at her in awe.

"Marg, can you help me with the zipper?" she asked the Tyrell girl through the curtain.

Margaery entered the changing room and she managed to hide her annoyance well.

Cersei noticed that Margaery was struggling with the zipper and she let out an annoyed sigh.

"Just zip it already" Cersei said.

"I'm trying to but the dress it too tight" Margaery said just as annoyed as Cersei "I can still get the larger dress"

"No!" Cersei shouted as soon as Margaery mentioned the other dress.

Cersei had always had a perfect slim figure and she was not going to wear a dress in a larger size than Margaery's.

"Just _fucking_ zip it, you flowerheaded moron!" Cersei shouted.

"Is everything all right in here?" Jocelyn, the manager of the store, asked when she carefully opened the curtain.

"I can't zip it up" Margaery told Jocelyn.

"Let me try" the store manager said and they both started to pull at the zipper.

Suddenly Cersei heard a metallic *clink* and the pulling stopped.

"What just happened?" Cersei asked angrily.

"The zipper broke" Margaery answered softly.

Cersei couldn't control her anger any longer.

She turned around and pushed Margaery who fell into Jocelyn, who fell into a clothing rack which toppled over.

"Are you telling me you're even too stupid to use a zipper?!" Cersei asked Margaery shouting.

Margaery couldn't control her anger any longer either.

"Maybe it's just because you're turning into a great, big, fat person!" Margaery shouted and her own outburst seemed to surprise her.

Cersei slapped Margaery and took off the red dress in the middle of the store.

She threw the dress at Jocelyn who was still sitting on the ground.

"This is shit quality and your sizes are fucked up!" Cersei shouted crying.

"Cersei Lannister, what is going on here?" a familiar voice asked.

Cersei turned around and saw her father standing in the doorway surrounded by two security members.

"Daddy, I can explain!" she said quickly and suddenly she noticed that everyone was looking at her in her underwear.

She wanted to pray to the Gods for this to be a nightmare but it was terrifyingly real.

"Get your clothes" her father just said and Cersei noticed that Dorcas was laughing behind the register.

She had probably called security and it was just Cersei's luck than she had done so on the day that her father was checking on the mall he owned.

Cersei quickly went back into the changing room and put her own clothes back on.

When she left the changing room she saw that Margaery was laughing at her too, just like everyone she met on her way back to her father's car.

She tried to ignore what people were yelling at her but she couldn't and when they reached the car she was crying.

Her father didn't say a word to her but she was afraid of what he was going to say when he finally did.

Cersei had never missed Jaime as much as she did at that moment.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys!**

**I just want to apologize for the fact that my updates have not been as frequently as usual.**

**I'm on holiday so I didn't have that much time to sit down with my laptop for a while and I didn't want to upload something that wasn't as good as I wanted it to be for you guys.**

**I promise that I'll try to update every other day again and I want to thank you all for sticking around ;)**

**It means a lot to me that people actually read this ^^**

**Sorry for the long speech and I hope that you'll like this chapter!**

**Love, Lady Jeyne Deadpoole**

* * *

Day 15: Walk me Home

**Arya**

Arya was sitting at the police station next to a middle-aged officer who was supposed to keep an eye on her.

The woman was trying to make Arya answer her questions about who she was and where her family lived but she kept giving vague answers.

She wanted to know what Sandor was telling the other officer in the interrogation room.

Arya was biting her nails and she couldn't control her nerves.

Last night she and Sandor had gotten into a fight because a few boys tried to assault her.

They had passed them while they were on their way to Arya's uncle, who lived a lot further away than she had expected, and they had started to shout things to her about what they wanted to do to her and about how much she was going to like it.

Eventually Sandor had snapped and together they had defeated the three boys but someone who lived nearby had already called the police.

The police immediately recognized Arya as the girl on the security tape which meant they wanted to question both of them about the thefts.

"You're really going to have to tell me your name" the officer said again and Arya could notice that she was annoyed.

_Good_, she thought bitterly, _I'm annoyed too._

The door to the interrogation room opened again and Sandor followed by the other officer left the room.

Sandor was handcuffed and he tried to avoid making eye contact with her.

"What is going on?" she asked the officer who had handcuffed and interrogated Sandor.

The man gave the woman a meaningful look before he answered her question.

"He confessed that he was the one who stole from the supermarket" the man said.

"Sandor, what are you doing?!" she shouted and she quickly walked over to him before the woman could stop him.

"I'm saving your ass" he said through his teeth "I told them I made you do this, I've already got a criminal record so that wasn't too hard to believe"

"But you didn't!" she said trying to make sure that the officers didn't hear them but they were already talking to each other.

Sandor shrugged.

"Jaqen was wearing a hoodie and they never saw his face on the security tape so they don't really care who they pin the crime on" Sandor said "this way you can still go home without too much trouble"

Arya shook her head.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him.

"Let's say it's my punishment for Mycah" Sandor said shrugging again and he started to smile "besides my big brother has been in juvenile too so I'm pretty sure his reputation will keep me safe"

"Is something going on?" the officer who had stayed with Arya asked her.

Arya shook her head and followed the woman while the man arranged everything for Sandor to go to juvenile prison.

She felt bad for leaving him behind but she knew that Sandor had done much worse things than stealing.

"You're lucky that your friend took the blame" the woman said "just make sure you stay away from the wrong type of people, okay?"

Arya nodded but she had really wanted to punch the woman in her pudgy face.

Somehow she even managed to smile at the woman.

"Is there someone we can call?" she asked Arya and she nodded.

She took the phone from the woman and called the only person she knew who would always be there for her.

Arya waited in front of the small police station while the wind tugged at her clothing and she wrapped her arms around herself.

It wasn't too long before she saw the familiar red car.

Gendry pulled the car over to the pavement and got out of it.

He looked at her with a strange look on his face, he approached her and kissed her all of the sudden.

She pulled away from the kiss and slapped him across the face.

"Why the fuck did you wait so long before doing this?" she asked him and this time she was the one to surprise the other with a kiss.

She had never felt so sure about what she was doing was right as she did then.

"Never do something like this again" Gendry said in-between kisses.

"Shut the fuck up and keep kissing me" she said grinning while she pressed him against the car.

**Theon**

Theon was sitting on the hospital bed and the room was filled with a clinically clean smell he had come to associate with the institution his mother lived in.

The stitches in his chest itched but he knew that he wasn't allowed to touch them.

The cleaning lady had found him passed out in the shower when she entered the room because she thought everyone had left already.

He couldn't remember anything of it.

The last thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital bed with stitches.

He hoped that Ramsay would be punished for what he had done but like usual he would probably blame someone else for it and get away scot-free.

Theon knew that if he told someone what had really happened they wouldn't believe him and he would only get into more trouble.

If it was up to him he would stay as far away from Ramsay as possible from now on.

He got up from the bed and walked to the window to open up the blinds.

A bright light shone through the window and it lit up the white room.

Suddenly he heard someone enter the room and for a moment he thought it was going to be a nurse or a doctor but it wasn't.

Robb walked into the room and sat down in a chair next to Theon's bed without talking to him.

"What are you doing here?" Theon asked him almost sounding accusing.

"I'm still your emergency contact apparently" Robb answered shrugging.

Theon realized that he was right.

He had always known that he couldn't count on his father in a situation like this so he had made Robb his emergency contact in his phone.

He forgot to change it after their fight, maybe he hadn't because he still hoped that they would patch things up eventually.

"Sorry, to bother you" Theon said and he couldn't wait to leave the hospital on his own.

Suddenly he realized that he was angry at Robb too for ignoring him for so long.

Robb bit his lip and he seemed to be thinking about something difficult before he spoke again.

"Did you hate me all along?" he asked him eventually.

"What?" Theon asked him confused "what are you talking about?"

Robb ran a hand through his hair and he looked very uncomfortable.

"You ruined my car and Sansa's party" Robb said looking at his shoes instead of Theon "what did I do that made you hate me this much?"

Theon shook his head and sat down onto the bed.

"I had nothing to do with Sansa's party" he said "and I never hated you"

"Then what about my car?" Robb asked him getting angry "you're like a brother to me and then you do something like that for what? For fun?!"

Theon bit his lip and he didn't know how he could make Robb understand his situation.

"I'm not your brother" he said eventually "I'm the Greyjoy kid that is always hanging around the Starks, Winterfell is not my home and it will never be my home even if I wanted it to"

Robb looked at him with big eyes but Theon continued talking.

"We can say that we're brothers but we're not and at the end of the day I still feel like I'm an intruder when I'm at Winterfell" Theon said "just like I feel like I'm an intruder when I'm at my own house. My father wants my mother and his other sons back but instead he gets me and no one wants me around"

Robb sat down next to Theon on the bed.

"Sometimes being brothers is about more than coming from the same family" Robb said "Winterfell _is_ your home, Theon, and we miss you, I miss you!"

Theon got up from the bed and shook his head.

He didn't want to hear Robb say those things.

He couldn't go back to Winterfell.

The scars on his chest had changed him for good.

He didn't want to be responsible for Robb getting involved in his fight with Ramsay.

Robb just had to accept that Theon wasn't the man he used to be just like Theon had accepted the fact that he wasn't going to see Robb anymore and in one way or another that hurt less than being the Starks "lackey" as Cersei had put it a long time ago.

"Come to Winterfell with me" Robb said "it will just be like it used to be"

Theon shook his head.

"I've made a decision" he said "I can't go back to the way things were, I'm done"

Robb give him on last hurt look before getting up from the bed too.

"Fine" Robb said and he left the room "have it your way"

This time he had really betrayed Robb in one way or another but it had been his own decision.

Robb had left the room with every last bit of his old life.

He wasn't Theon anymore, he couldn't even save Jeyne from Ramsay.

Someone else would have to save her as much as he wished he could be that person.

He couldn't fight Ramsay and his friends.

He simply wasn't strong enough, he was Reek.

**Jon**

Jon was humming to himself while he was trying to come up with a design for Daenerys' campaign poster and a slogan on one of the computers in the AV room.

Tyrion, Dany and he had tried to come up with a good nickname for Dany too.

Jon liked "The Silver Queen" because of Daenerys' unusual silver hair, Tyrion liked "Slayer of Lies" but Jon thought that was a bit dark and eventually Daenerys had asked them what they thought about "The Dragon Queen" which all three of them liked.

A dragon with three heads used to be the symbol of The Royal Targaryen Enterprise and Tyrion had jokingly commented on the fact that they were the three heads of Daenerys' campaign.

Sam sat down in a chair next to him with a loud sigh.

Jon kept working until Sam let out another loud sigh and he realized that he was just trying to get Jon's attention.

"Hey, Sam" Jon said and smiled at his friend.

"Did you update the website yet?" Sam asked his friend "people still can't post photos"

Jon had to admit that he completely forgot to work on their school's social media website.

"I'm immediately going to work on that when I've finished this, okay?" Jon said and he concentrated on his screen again.

"Yeah, sure" Sam said sarcastically.

Jon had never managed to annoy Sam before so he immediately knew that something was up.

"What's wrong?" he asked him.

"It's just that you've been neglecting your work for the AV club lately" Sam said blushing and he looked at his screen instead of Jon.

Jon knew that saying something like this took all of the self-proclaimed craven's courage.

"I'm sorry" Jon said "I'm just busy with Dany's campaign and Ygritte and everything"

"That's fine" Sam said biting his lip "but you have responsibilities here too and... and you haven't asked me once how I'm doing"

Jon was definitely not expecting Sam to say something like this.

He had known that this conversation wasn't just going to be about the AV club because he wasn't behind on any of his duties except maybe for the update he still had to do.

"How are you doing, Sam?" Jon asked him eventually.

"Good" he said still sounding a little distressed "very good actually"

"Really?" Jon asked him.

Sam nodded and his chins jiggled along.

"I've been seeing a girl actually" he said softly and Jon didn't think it was humanly possible to turn redder than Sam was right then "her name is Gilly, like the flower"

A smile spread across Sam's big face when he spoke of Gilly.

"That's great, Sam" Jon said and he couldn't help but smile at his friend's happiness "How did you to meet?"

Sam's smile faded a little bit before he spoke again.

"Last summer my sisters and I went to the homeless shelter to bring them food for their soup-kitchen and that's how I met Gilly" he said.

"Was she a volunteer?" Jon asked him.

Sam shook his head and his smile had disappeared.

"Gilly had just given birth to a son and she was terrified that her abusive father would hurt him so she ran away from home" Sam said softly so only Jon could hear him "she's doing a lot better now though, I convinced her to go to the orphanage and her son is very healthy. One day I'll marry her and then we can live together"

Jon smiled at Sam's optimism.

"Are you so sure already that you're going to marry her?" Jon asked him and Sam nodded.

"I just know that she's the one" Sam said and his smile returned "she said I was brave"

Jon wondered if he was so sure about Ygritte as Sam seemed to be about Gilly but he was afraid that he already knew the answer to that.

**Sansa**

Sansa was standing in front of the mirror and admiring her yellow bridesmaid's gown while the other bridesmaids were busy telling Lysa how pretty she looked in her wedding dress.

Sansa didn't think her aunt looked that pretty though but like usually she kept her opinion to herself.

The dress Lysa was wearing would be pretty if it didn't look like she had had to stuff herself into it and if she had been younger since it wasn't covered in bows and lace.

"What do you think?" Sansa asked Mya who was leaning against the wall next to Sansa's mirror and who had been watching the blushing bride too.

Mya wasn't a bridesmaid so she was wearing jeans, combat boots and a t-shirt with a faded camouflage print that looked vintage but was in fact brand new.

"No comment" Mya said with a cheeky grin and she gave Sansa a meaningful look.

The smell of Mya's energy drink was so sickeningly sweet it reminded her of her aunt's perfume and she wondered how someone could drink that.

"You look nice though" Mya said and she smiled at Sansa "a lot nicer than I did"

Sansa liked talking to Mya because she had felt very lonely now she and Jeyne didn't talk anymore.

"Thanks" Sansa said "but what do you mean with "a lot nicer than I did"?"

"I was the one who had to wear your dress originally" Mya said "and you can trust me that was not a pretty sight"

Sansa thought that Mya would actually look great in a dress just like her sister Arya but they were both too tough and too stubborn to admit it.

"I'm sorry" Sansa said "I didn't want to rob you from being a bridesmaid"

Mya shook her head and made a gesture with her hand which seemed to mean something like "don't worry about it"

Sansa had learned a few things about Mya over the past few days.

Sansa had unknowingly asked her about a touchy subject when she had asked Mya about her parents and she had learned that Mya didn't know who her real father was.

She knew that Mya was a bastard since her last name was Stone and her familiar blue eyes and dark hair made her suspect who her father might be but she didn't say anything about it.

Another thing she had learned about Mya was that she was dating a boy named Mychel Redfort but that they were having some trouble.

Mya would often leave the room after getting a phone call but Sansa could still hear her shout through the door and the person who she was talking to on the phone seemed to be shouting too.

"Oh look at you, Sansa dear" her aunt said when she noticed Sansa in front of the mirror.

She walked up to her in her wedding dress with the large skirt and hugged her.

The sweet smell of her perfume immediately filled Sansa's nostrils and she was afraid that Lysa's makeup was going to leave a smudge on her face.

"You look just like my sister when she was your age" Lysa said and Sansa could almost hear her add the words "maybe a bit too much" in her head.

"Thank you" Sansa said smiling shyly "everyone always tells me that she was very beautiful"

"She was" Lysa said and no matter how hard she tried to hide it Sansa could hear the bitterness in her voice "I was never like that"

Lysa looked a bit sad while she thought of her older, more beautiful sister but then her smile reappeared on her face.

"Oh well" she said smiling "I'm the one marrying Petyr after all so I have nothing to complain about"

Sansa forced a smile onto her face but it frightened her how little her aunt tried to be sad about her former husband's death.

Jon Arryn had been a good friend of her father and Ned had always claimed that he thought his death was suspicious when he was among people he could trust.

"Well I'm glad that you can come to the wedding even though Cat can't" Lysa said "Robin will like that too"

Sansa knew that her cousin was very sick and weak and she had heard that he still wet the bed even though he was six.

He was a spoiled little brat who constantly clung to his mother so she doubted that Robin would even notice her as long as Lysa was around.

She just hoped that she wasn't going to have to babysit him the entire day but the look in Lysa's eyes made her fear that was exactly what was going to happen.

Luckily she still had Mya at her side.

**Jeyne**

Jeyne closed the backdoor of Ramsay's house behind her and sat down on the steps.

The garden was large and dark and the only light came from the window in the door behind her.

She could hear the dogs bark at her but they were chained up just like she felt she was.

Jeyne wanted to go home but she was shaking too much to even stand.

Her whole body was sore and there were bruises and bite marks on her inner thighs from when he had forced her to spread her legs for him.

Jeyne felt so lost and hopeless but most of all she felt lonely.

Everyone at her school was just talking about Prom and how fun it was going to be while all she could think about was the inevitable fact that she was going to have to go to Ramsay's house again at night.

One time she had been fifteen minutes late and he had treated her even worse than usual because he was convinced that she had been with someone else.

Ramsay's obsessively need to control and posses people was what drove him to do this.

He didn't see her as a person but as an object which was entirely his and no one else was allowed to play with it.

That was why he liked hurting her to show her that he was in control over her body even more than she was.

He decided her faith and she feared the day that he decided that he was growing bored of playing with her.

She didn't think he was above killing people.

Jeyne knew that she couldn't keep sitting on the steps in front of the backdoor much longer so she carefully stood up from her seat.

She put her hand against the stone wall while she walked to the gate in the iron fence which surrounded the garden.

Ramsay had opened the gate for her by pressing a button near the front door which controlled the security system so she could leave now he was done with her.

It was very cold outside but she was wearing nothing but a short dress and a thin jacket.

Ramsay liked it when she wore tight, short dresses or skirts and she was terrified of displeasing him.

She wrapped her arms around herself while she walked on the narrow pavement.

It was a long way home but she had gotten used to it now.

Jeyne had also gotten used to the fact that she had to sneak in through the backdoor of her own house so no one would notice that she had been gone for so long.

At days like these she was glad that her parents had four other daughters to keep them busy so usually no one missed her.

She noticed a man leaning against a streetlight while smoking a cigarette and she tried to avoid looking at him.

Jeyne knew that she wasn't exactly dressed for the weather and she didn't want to give the man any ideas about her.

She didn't think she could take something like that again.

The closer she got to the man the more she started to recognize him even though his eye was still swollen and he was hiding his face underneath the hood of his leather jacket.

"Theon" she said softly when she was close enough for him to hear her and she felt tears of joy burn in her eyes.

He would save her, she knew it.

Theon was the only one who cared and he had always known what kind of monster Ramsay was.

_A beast in human skin_, she thought shivering but unlike the Disney movies Sansa and Jeyne had seen a million times he didn't turn into a prince when she kissed him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I wanted to check on you" he said shrugging and threw his cigarette on the ground.

Jeyne knew that Theon and Robb had struggled a lot while quitting smoking that summer but she didn't care that he had started again at least he was there when she needed him.

She walked up to him and she wanted to hug him.

Jeyne wanted to bury her head into his chest and wait for him to save her and take her away from this nightmare but when she wanted to hug him he moved away from her.

"Not now" he said "he might still see us"

She could see fear in his eyes which only made her want to hug him more.

It was her fault that Ramsay had beaten him up.

She didn't attempt to hug him again and they walked alongside each other in silence for a while until they had left Ramsay's street and they were sure he couldn't see them anymore.

"Theon" she said whispering his name again and she took hold of his hand.

She noticed that he had thought about moving away from her again but this time he didn't.

"I'm so afraid" she said and she started to cry again "please, help me, he'll kill me, he makes me do things, Theon, I can't!"

She stopped making sense but her situation was too horrible to explain in one sentence.

She wrapped her arms around Theon and he reluctantly hugged her back.

"I can't help you" he said and it broke her heart "I can't fight him, Jeyne"

She looked up at him and she thought she saw tears in his eyes too even though she had never seen him cry before.

"Someone else will help you, ask Stannis or Robb" he told her but she shook her head.

"No one will believe me or they'll say that it's my own fault" she said "and Ramsay will kill me if he finds out that I told someone"

She just realized how lost they both were.

They were both too afraid to ask someone for help and they weren't able to help themselves either.

"I'm sorry" Theon whispered but she couldn't blame him for being just as powerless as she was.

"You're still my hero" she said softly and she kissed him but not like Ramsay had made them do before.

Ramsay had done it to humiliate them so he could show them that he controlled them but she'd rather kiss a bloody and dirty Theon than Ramsay any time of the day.

She never stopped loving Theon and she didn't think she would ever be able to do so.


	16. Chapter 16

Day 16: Taking Advice

**Daenerys**

The students were buzzing with excitement when they entered the classroom and noticed the little trays with dead frogs on it.

Daenerys remembered that Professor Qyburn promised them that they were going to dissect frogs if he thought they were ready.

She wasn't looking forward to it like some of the other students but she didn't really mind either.

Daenerys had a pretty good stomach for things like this ever since she had to go through the hazing of the Dothraki.

Qyburn entered the classroom after the students and she could see that he was looking forward to this lesson too.

"To understand our bodies" he started "we need to get to know them from the outside and the inside"

Daenerys had never seen students listen so carefully to a Professor and Qyburn seemed to notice this too and he took advantage of this.

"Of course we could impossibly dissect a human body" Qyburn said with a strange smile on his face which made Daenerys shiver "so let's start with these little fellows here"

"Gods be good" she heard the girl next to her whisper while she stared at the little frog in front of her with big brown eyes.

"Now let's carefully break the skin, shall we?" Qyburn said and he started working on his own frog which was projected on the screen behind him thanks to a little camera on his desk.

Daenerys guessed that Jon or one of his friends from the AV club must have installed the camera and the projection screen for today's lesson.

Dany and the other students picked up their own scalpels but when she wanted to cut her little frog she noticed that the girl next to her was shaking heavily.

"Are you okay?" Daenerys asked her but the girl shook her head while tears rolled down her face.

"I can't hurt it" the brunette said "I can't, I can't, I can't!"

Daenerys guessed that explaining that the frog wasn't alive anymore and that the girl couldn't really hurt it was useless right now.

"Come on" she said and she gently took the girl's arm and escorted her out of the classroom

Daenerys noticed that the girl was hyperventilating and she had turned as white as a sheet.

Dany was afraid that the girl was going to pass out soon so she made her sit on the floor next to the classroom door and she sat down next to her.

"Look at me" Daenerys said but the girl's breathing only accelerated "look at me!"

The girl opened her brown eyes again which were filled with tears.

"You won't hurt anyone, they're not hurting anyone and you panicking is not going to help the frogs!" Dany said looking into the girl's eyes with her violet ones.

"I'm sorry!" she said and she started to cry harder but her breathing was becoming more normal.

Daenerys sat with the girl until she had calmed down again.

"What's your name?" Daenerys asked her.

"Jeyne" the girl answered softly "what's your name?"

"Daenerys Targaryen"

Jeyne nodded while she wiped away her tears.

"Thank you, Daenerys" she said "I'm sorry that I made such a fool out of myself"

"You didn't" Dany said shaking her head.

Daenerys was wondering what she could say to cheer the girl up.

She knew that Jon and Tyrion would want her to befriend Jeyne so she might vote for her but she also really wanted to help the girl.

Daenerys thought she had seen the girl with Ramsay Bolton at the bonfire that Sunday.

She knew him because they were in the same common tongue class and she had learned that he wasn't the brightest but definitely the loudest student in that class.

"You're Ramsay Bolton's girlfriend, aren't you?" Daenerys asked her with a smile.

She hoped that would be a subject Jeyne liked to talk about and which would cheer her up but it only seemed to make her sadder.

"Yes" she said softly and Dany saw her fidgeting with her sleeve.

She knew that movement and she knew that guilty look in Jeyne's eyes.

Dany grabbed her arm before the girl could move and she rolled up her sleeve.

"Stop!" Jeyne shouted but Daenerys had already exposed the bruises.

"Did he do that?" she asked her.

Jeyne pulled back her arm and shot Daenerys an accusing look.

"You don't know that" Jeyne said and she got up from where she was sitting.

Daenerys got up too and she grabbed Jeyne's arm before she could run away.

She rolled up her own sleeve and showed her the scars on her wrist.

"My brother used to hurt me so I wouldn't do anything he didn't want me to do" Daenerys said and Jeyne's expression softened "so whoever did that to you or even if you did it to yourself, you're not alone"

A shy smile appeared on Jeyne's face but Dany could see that she wasn't completely convinced yet.

"Thank you, Daenerys" Jeyne said "I know that's not an easy thing to share with anyone"

Daenerys shrugged and gave her a shy smile.

"Well, I'm not going back in there again" Jeyne said awkwardly while she pointed at the classroom door "not after making such a fool out of myself, so I guess that'll see you around, right?"

"Sure" Dany said smiling and she watched Jeyne walk away.

**Sansa**

Sansa was sitting on Little Finger's desk and Mya was sitting in his chair.

They were eating lemon cakes and they were laughing about one of Mya's stories about her now ex-boyfriend Mychel.

It turned out that he had cheated on her and Sansa knew that there was no other way of getting over a guy than crying it out with a friend while eating sweets.

Mya wasn't one for crying though but she did seem to enjoy the company and the cakes.

Little Finger's office was on one of the highest floors of the Eyrie and it provided a beautiful view of the blue sky and the landscape.

Petyr was in a meeting so they had the office all to themselves.

"So are you excited for the wedding?" Mya asked her while eating another lemon cake.

Sansa shrugged.

"I guess" she said "it's something to keep my mind of things"

"What happened?" Mya asked her.

Sansa didn't really know how she should answer that question.

She didn't want to talk about her own failed relationship after Mya told her about hers.

Sansa shrugged again.

"I don't really want to talk about it" she confessed eventually "if that's okay with you"

Mya shrugged too but Sansa could see that it annoyed her that she refused to open up to Mya after she had opened up to her.

They heard someone knock on the door and Petyr entered his own office.

Sansa could hear Mya curse under her breath but she was already sitting in another chair before Petyr even noticed that she had been sitting in his.

"There are my girls" he said chuckling.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Mister Baelish?" Mya asked him.

"Yes, can you copy these files for me?" Little Finger asked her and he handed her the binder he was carrying "leave the copies in the archive and bring the originals back to me, okay?"

"Sure thing" Mya said and she left with the binder after winking at Sansa.

Petyr sat down in his chair behind the desk and smiled at Sansa again.  
"Is there anything I can help you with, Sansa?" Petyr asked her looking at her in that strange way again.

She shook her head.

"I was just hear to visit Mya" Sansa said.

"You're a good friend, Sansa" Petyr said "your mother and I were friends too but you knew that already, right?"

Sansa nodded and she sat down in the chair across from Petyr's.

"She always smiles when she talks about your childhood together" Sansa said "she told me that you were very close"

Cat had not always been positive about her friendship with Petyr though especially when it concerned him trying to get in the way of her and other boys but it was a small lie and she wanted to keep Petyr happy.

"Maybe a bit too close" Petyr said "and it worries Lysa, I mean, who can blame her? You look exactly like her!"

Sansa didn't really know how to respond to that.

Her aunt didn't think that something would happen between Petyr and her, right?

"I don't understand" Sansa said softly "have I done something wrong?"

"No, of course not" Petyr said chuckling while he shook his head "Lysa just worries too much about everything"

Sansa nodded but she still felt like she was being accused of something.

"Maybe you could do something to change that though" Little Finger said.

"Like what?" Sansa asked him.

She didn't want any trouble so if she could do something to make her aunt feel more comfortable at her own wedding she was willing to do so.

"I mean you look so much like Cat" Petyr said "maybe you could dye your hair brown just too make her feel more comfortable, if it's not too much trouble of course"

Sansa bit her lip while she thought about that.

She had always loved her auburn hair but she didn't think that dying her hair brown for just a few days would be that bad.

Jeyne and Sansa had dyed their hair before for a fancy-dress party with dye which could easily be washed out of your hair when you didn't like it anymore and she didn't mind doing it again.

"I could do that" Sansa answered and she added a smile "no problem"

"You're amazing, Sansa" Petyr said and he took hold of her hand "I was so afraid of asking you something as stupid as this"

Sansa blushed and she didn't think that Petyr was afraid of doing anything as long as it meant he would get his way.

He had once even tried to fight her uncle, who was a lot taller and muscular than he, just because he didn't want him to date her mother.

"Don't worry" she said and she managed to add a smile "you can count on me"

**Arya**

Arya and Gendry were walking through the forest near Winterfell.

Nymeria was walking alongside them and she kept looking at Arya as if she was afraid that she was going to run off again.

The ground was covered in dried up leaves which crunched underneath their feet and this was the only sound they heard.

Arya noticed a tree that had fallen down and she got up on it so she could walk on the tree trunk.

Syrio had told her to work on her balance and she thought it was a good idea to practice even harder than usual since she had missed some lessons.

Gendry wanted to take her hand so it would be easier for her but she didn't allow him.

She needed to be able to do it on her own.

Arya jumped off the trunk when she reached the end and Gendry broke the silence that had fallen between them.

"So this is a Godswood, right?" he asked her when they had left the oaks, sentinels and the ironwood trees and arrived at a little black pool in the middle of the forest next to a weirwood tree.

"Yes, my father came here to pray a lot" Arya answered while she threw a stone at the pool and watched it skip across the water before it sank.

There was another silence and even the animals in the forest seemed to be too afraid to disturb the peace and quiet.

"You never told me what happened when you left" Gendry said.

"Because I don't want to" Arya answered while she looked at the crying face of the heart tree.

She wondered if the children of the forest had really carved faces into the heart trees or if it was just some bedtime story people used to tell their kids before they went to sleep.

Even though it was hard to believe in anything as magical as that nowadays, it was almost impossible to deny it in front of a real heart tree.

"Listen" Gendry said and she noticed that he was struggling to bring up whatever he wanted to tell her "if something happened between you and... and Sandor, you have to tell me!"

"Of course not, you idiot" she said and she punched his arm but the smile she put on wasn't convincing.

Nothing had happened between her and Sandor and nothing serious had happened between her and Jaqen either but that didn't mean she hadn't changed.

She really felt like she had grown up somehow.

Arya realized how stupid it was to run away from home like that and she wasn't planning on doing something like that ever again.

She realized that she was going to become more serious and that she needed to set a goal for herself and she thought she already knew what.

Sandor would be punished for his crimes even if the reason he was going to prison wasn't directly one he had committed, he couldn't deny that he had done other bad things.

She knew he had beaten up children for Joffrey even if these children had no way of defending themselves and that was a crime too in Arya's eyes.

She just couldn't stand that there were other people out there though like Cersei and Joffrey who weren't going to be punished for anything at all.

Someone needed to punish people like that and she had decided that that person was going to be her.

Arya was going to take her lessons with Syrio more serious and once she finished high school she was going to join the army.

Her uncle Benjen was in the army too and she had heard Jon say he was thinking about enrolling so she wouldn't be completely alone.

"Why don't you want to talk about it if nothing happened?" Gendry asked her and he interrupted her train of thought.

She sighed.

"Can you, please, let it go?" Arya asked him and she took hold of his hand.

Gendry was looking at her with his usual stubborn look but it softened when he saw her pleading grey eyes.

"Fine" he sighed eventually and she kissed him.

She noticed that he was looking at something behind her when he spoke.

"Arry, can I ask you something?" Gendry asked her.

"Sure" she said shrugging

"Can we go somewhere else?" he asked her "I feel like that tree is judging me"

Arya laughed at that and Gendry gave her a slightly hurt look.

"Come on, you baby" she said dragging him away from pool "before the big bad trees can hurt you"

**Margaery**

Margaery was sitting in Joffrey's bedroom and waiting for him to return.

She felt horrible to be honest.

Margaery felt horrible for stealing Sansa's date on her own birthday, even though she had to admit that Sansa seemed to understand that she should be thanking her, and she felt horrible for the fact that she had to spend another day with Joffrey.

Joffrey was a terrible brat who thought he was smarter, stronger and more handsome than everyone else even though he was clearly not.

Joffrey had been spoiled by his parents and Cersei and even at school no teacher seemed to be brave enough to punish him for the stuff he did.

The only silver lining was that he had ensured that she would become Prom Queen now Cersei had had a mental breakdown and Sansa didn't seem to want to be Prom Queen anymore anyway.

Margaery didn't really care about becoming Prom Queen because unlike Cersei she knew what was really important in life.

She knew that being Prom Queen wouldn't last forever and that her real goal should be working at Tyrell Enterprises.

Her grandmother was training her for that and Margaery couldn't wait to turn it into the biggest company in Westeros.

She wondered how much Cersei would still benefit from being the most popular girl in school when she watched Tyrell Enterprises surpass LannisCorp.

Margaery imagined that it would look something like the mental breakdown the blonde had had at the mall.

It would have been humorous if her walk of shame hadn't been so terribly sad.

Margaery unlike Cersei didn't enjoy watching people suffer but unlike Sansa she knew that something like that was part of playing the game.

Joffrey entered his bedroom again and Margaery managed to put a smile on her face.

Joffrey had left the room because he had gotten a phone call from one of his friend and she thought it was a bit rude that he had kept her waiting for so long but she guessed that was just Joffrey being Joffrey.

"Who was that, love?" she asked him.

"That stupid dog finally turned up again" Joffrey said throwing his phone on the bed, only missing Margaery by a hair "he's in prison"

Margaery knew that he meant Sandor Clegane by that but she could see that he didn't want her to pursue the issue.

There was something else she wanted to talk to him about anyway.

"You know, love" she started carefully watching Joffrey's facial expression "it would be smart if we started working on our campaign"

Joffrey snorted and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Look at us" he said "who wouldn't vote for us?"

Margaery chuckled at his joke even though she thought it was immature and arrogant.

He put his hand on her upper leg and she had to keep herself from pushing him off her.

"Besides" he said looking a bit more serious "I don't know if I'm willing to compete against Cersei"

She had been afraid that he was going to say something like that.

"Why not?" she asked him while she pretended to be surprised.

"A Lannister can't fight another Lannister" he said simply.

He kissed her and she had to keep herself from shivering while he stuck his tongue into her mouth.

Margaery just thought he was too disgusting.

Joffrey stopped kissing her and played with her brown curls.

"Did you hear what happened at the mall the other day?" she asked him.

Joffrey frowned and nodded.

"Cersei shouldn't have done that" he said and she thanked the Gods for that reaction.

She didn't want to think about what could have happened if he had gotten angry at her for bringing it up.

"I felt so bad for her" Margaery said shaking her head "no one likes to see a friend like that"

"You're too kind, my dear" Joffrey said "It was her own fault and she has shamed our family"

Margaery knew that she was very close to convincing him to compete against Cersei.

"You're too hard on her, love" Margaery said and Joffrey got up from the bed.

He walked to the mirror on the wall which he probably did to check his hair before he continued.

"I'm not too hard on her" he said and he seemed to think about something for a while "maybe we should compete against her after all, we can't let people think they can make fun of Lannisters"

Margaery made sure to hide her smile from him but she felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Cersei will just have to move over for a new generation of Lannisters" he said.

Margaery smiled.

"If you want to compete, we will" she said.

**Jeyne**

The loud music boomed through the bar and the air smelled of alcohol and sweat.

Jeyne was standing next to the Bitches of Bolton and she envied their laughter and how much fun they seemed to be having.

She couldn't remember the last time she had danced and laughed like nothing else matter but she feared it was around the time she met Ramsay Bolton.

Ramsay was obviously drunk and his singing sounded slurred even though no one seemed to care.

They finished the song and Ramsay smiled at her and she forced herself to smile back at him.

"Now for our next song I'm going to need a little help" he said "Jeyne, why don't you come up here?"

The Bitches cheered while Jeyne climbed on stage and she was glad that they didn't seem to hate her anymore.

Ramsay put an arm around her.

"Pretty, right?" he asked the audience and she could hear the boys respond by whistling, cheering and shouting her name.

She didn't believe them though, they were probably just scared of Ramsay.

"Now I know what everyone is thinking" he said giving her a loving smile "you're probably all thinking "But Ramsay her tits are so small?" and you're right of course, but she puts out so who gives a shit, right?"

She could hear some of the audience laugh with him but the Bitches stayed silent.

"Enough talking, let's rock!" he shouted and Jeyne quickly got off the stage again.

There were tears in her eyes while she fled into the women's bathroom.

Jeyne hated that he made her his whore when they were alone but she had hoped that he would at least have the decency to leave her some value when they were in public but she guessed that that was too much to ask.

She wondered what she had done wrong to deserve something like this.

Jeyne thought about the time she had called Arya "horseface" to cheer Sansa up after her friend had a fight with her sister.

She wondered if this was her punishment because she didn't think anyone deserved something like this.

The door to the bathroom opened and Red Jeyne entered the room.

Jeyne quickly wiped away her tears and looked into the mirror as if she had just been checking her hair.

Red reapplied her lipstick while she watched Jeyne in the mirror.

"Did he send you?" Jeyne asked eventually and her voice sounded small due to the echo in the bathroom.

"No" Red said and she put her lipstick back in her purse "by the way if you want to cover up a bruise with foundation, you need to chose the right skin tone"

A blush spread across Jeyne's face.

She had used foundation of one of her sisters because she had run out of her own.

"Does he beat you?" Red asked her.

Jeyne turned her head and looked into the mirror instead so she didn't have to look at Red but somehow watching the guilty look on her own face was even worse.

"Let me break it to you" Red said "this won't stop"

"What?" Jeyne asked softly.

"He won't stop beating you and treating you like shit if you stay with him" the girl said almost sounding annoyed.

Jeyne felt tears burn into her eyes again.

"I have no choice" Jeyne said "he will kill me if I leave"

Red grabbed Jeyne's arm and rolled up her sleeve just like Daenerys had done.

"And how do you think this is going to end?" Red asked showing Jeyne her own bruises.

She nodded.

She couldn't deny what Red was telling her was true but that didn't mean she wasn't still afraid.

"Take the backdoor, I'll cover for you" Red said and she smiled at Jeyne for the first time.

Jeyne nodded but she remembered something before she left.

"Did you know that he's like this?" Jeyne asked her.

Red nodded with a guilty look on her face.

"Then why are you still here?"

Red shrugged and regained her old careless attitude.

"Where could a bitch like me go?" she asked before she started to laugh "No, I just really like the music and besides I'd like to see him try to hurt me. I'll bite his face off"

Jeyne gave Red a shocked look before she realized that she was joking.

"Come on, let's go before someone notices we're gone" Red said and they both left the room.

Jeyne disappeared through the blue backdoor of the bar and walked onto the street.

She tried to keep herself from running because that would look too suspicious while her heart hammered in her chest.

She retrieved her phone from her pocket and texted Theon.

"_I left him"_

She didn't have time to text him more because she still felt like Ramsay was going to come after her any minute now.

There were two ways for her to walk home: through the park, or around the park.

The park was very poorly lit at night so she didn't feel entirely save but she knew that walking around the park was going to take her twice as long.

"Fuck it" she said under her breath and she walked into the dark park.

It was quiet and the only things she heart was the pounding of her heart and the crushing of the fallen leaves underneath her feet.

She started jogging and she couldn't believe she had really left him.

He would get the hint when he noticed that she didn't return from the bathroom.

Ramsay would be furious of course but as long as she made it home safe she would survive.

She heard her phone buzz and checked it.

"_Where are you now?"_

She quickly replied to Theon's text.

"_The park" _

She started to run again until someone bumped into her and threw her onto the ground.

Jeyne accidently dropped the phone and Ramsay stepped on it breaking the glass screen.

"You little, filthy bitch" Ramsay said and she had never seen him so angry before.

His face had turned red and there was spit in the corner of his mouth.

He grabbed her arm and pushed her against a nearby tree.

"Let go off me!" she shouted and she tried to get free from his grip.

He punched her in the face and her nose made a terrible crackling noise and before she could recover he started punching her stomach again and again and again.

"Please" she said softly.

Ramsay grabbed her throat with one hand and ripped her dress with the other.

"I'm gonna fuck you one last time before I'll kill you" he said while tears rolled down her face.

Then someone pulled Ramsay off her and she could breathe again.

"You've hurt her enough" Theon said and Jeyne noticed that he was shaking.

She could see the fear in his eyes but that didn't take away the fact that he was there for her.

"Know your place, Reek" Ramsay said who got back on his feet after Theon had thrown him onto the ground.

"I won't let you hurt her again!" Theon shouted.

"You won't?!" Ramsay asked laughing maniacally "I've fucked her and beat her countless of times and now you think you can stop me? You're pathetic, Reek, I'd kill you if I thought you were a real threat"

"Like you killed your brother?" Theon suddenly asked and the smile on Ramsay's face disappeared.

"Yeah" Ramsay said softly while he approached Theon "Like I killed my stupid brother"

Ramsay laughed again but it sounded even stranger this time, it sounded almost soft.

"He was so fucking happy to have a little brother" Ramsay said "but as long as he was alive Roose wouldn't care about me. Now I'm all he has apart from that cow but if she gives birth, I'll just have to kill those children too"

Jeyne didn't know what to say or to think anymore and everyone seemed to have forgotten about her while she cried softly.

"You're wrong, Snow" Theon said smiling his old smile "he won't have you around any longer either"

"What are you talking about?" Ramsay asked him confused but Theon had already unbuttoned his shirt and exposed the microphone which was taped to his chest.

Within a few seconds the park was filled with cops, blue and red lights and obnoxious sirens.

The cops handcuffed Ramsay while he just stood there with his mouth open.

Jeyne didn't think he had ever lost anything before in his entire life.

She knew that Roose had enough money to buy a whole army of lawyers but she had a feeling he wasn't going to use them.

Roose might be happier without Ramsay especially after what he said about Walda's future children.

The cops asked her different things but she was unable to answer them.

The only thing she could do was look at Theon while he explained the whole situation to them.

Someone offered her a blanket but she hardly noticed the person who put it around her.

Jeyne waited until Theon was alone before she approached him.

"I thought you said that you couldn't help me" she said almost accusing.

"I couldn't" he said "but these people can"

She looked at him and she didn't know what to say.

She didn't know how to thank him for saving her, for standing up for her, for being the only one who simply cared.

Jeyne didn't even think words could express her gratitude.

"Theon" she whispered softly.

"Are you okay?" he asked her concerned "you look pale, did he hurt your right now?"

She shook her head.

"Theon, I love you" she said "and I don't care if you don't like me like that but I just needed to tell you. You're the bravest man I know and you saved me! I mean, Gods, you saved me from that monster and I can't even say how much I love you because of that and because of all the wonderful things you've done for me"

She looked at him and she noticed that he was smiling again.

"Dear, Jeyne" he said "how could you ever think that I don't love you back?"

Then he kissed her and everything fell into place.

No matter how many people will try to break you and no matter how many people try to take advantage of you, some people will always find the strength to love again which is all that matters in the end.


	17. Chapter 17

Day 17: In Denial

**Tyrion**

Tyrion was walking through the hallway and he was on his way to High Valyrian.

His mood was surprisingly good which had to do with the fact that his sister was staying with their uncle Kevan for a while because Tywin didn't trust her enough anymore to leave her alone without supervision.

He noticed Sansa Stark walking in his direction with her eyes fixed on the books in front of her.

Apparently she was doing some last minute studying for a test and he could see the panic in her blue eyes.

She was walking quickly and her mouth formed the words she was reading while her eyes raced across the pages.

She was quickly getting closer to him and he was afraid that she was going to bump into him if he didn't stop her on time.

"Hey, Sansa!" he said and he startled the stressed girl so much, she dropped her books and pages scattered across the hallway.

"No!" Sansa gasped and she quickly got on her knees so she could gather her stuff again.

"Let me help you" Tyrion said and he wanted to pick up some pages for her.

Sansa quickly took the pages before he could pick them up and she shot him an accusing look.

"No, thank you" she said and she got back on her feet again.

He noticed how much taller she was than him but it was the hateful look in her eyes which really intimidated him,

"Sorry, if I startled you" he said.

"That's okay" Sansa said but she didn't sound sincere.

"Can I do something to make it up to you?" Tyrion asked the Stark girl.

Sansa let out a bitter laugh.

"You Lannisters are really keen on helping other people, aren't you?" she asked sarcastically.

Tyrion laughed when he finally noticed what was going on.

"You think I'm like my sister, don't you?" he asked her.

A blush spread across Sansa's face and she refused to answer his question.

"Believe me, I'm nothing like Cersei or my brother for that matter" Tyrion said.

"I have class" Sansa just said and she walked past him.

"What can I do to make you believe me?" Tyrion asked her while he struggled to keep up with her but Sansa still didn't reply.

He grabbed her wrist so she had to stop and he looked into her blue eyes.

"Come on, Sansa, don't I deserve a chance?" he asked her.

She let out a sigh before she spoke.

"The what do _you_ propose?" Sansa asked him.

"Let me take you out to dinner" he said smiling.

Sansa let out another sigh and she started walking again.

"Not like that!" Tyrion said quickly "I won't do anything you're not comfortable with"

Sansa crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him a nasty look.

"Then what are you going to do if I'm not comfortable with being around a Lannister?"

Tyrion didn't know what to say to that but the girl was already walking away from him and she went into a classroom at the end of the hallway.

Once again his name, in combination with his ugly face, had cost him a girl.

He had never been romantically interested in Sansa, even though he couldn't deny that she was a very beautiful girl, but it was just the fact that his sister had managed to ruin another thing for him that pissed him off so much.

Was he going to have to spend the rest of his life in shame?

If his father wasn't trying to make him feel guilty for being born and for killing the only woman, and possibly the only person, Tywin ever loved, they were trying to make him feel guilty for something his sister or even Joffrey had done.

He couldn't remember how many times his sister had played a cruel prank on him when they were both just children and somehow he had always ended up getting blamed for everything and even now his sister was at his uncle's house people still judged and blamed him for things she had done.

The Lannisers always said that the only people you could trust and you should care about were your family but he felt like he was going to be the first Lannister who was going to break the chain because he just couldn't spend another day living like this.

**Jon**

Jon entered the coffee shop and the bell on the door greeted him by ringing cheerfully.

The coffee house was small and cosy and there were groups of people sitting at tables scattered across the room.

Soft music played in the background and it wasn't long before he spotted Sam and Gilly.

Sam waved at him and he went to their table.

He couldn't deny that he was nervous.

Sam had asked Jon and Ygritte to go on a double date with him and Gilly and even though Jon knew that it was going to be very tough to convince Ygritte, he didn't have the heart to say no to his friend.

Gilly was a pretty girl with a slender figure, brown hair and doe eyes.

She looked sweet and maybe a bit shy but Sam was like that too.

There was a red stroller next to Gilly and a baby was sleeping peacefully in it.

"What's this little guy's name?" Jon asked looking at the baby and smiling.

"Aemon" Gilly answered smiling "you must be Jon, right? Sam has told me much about you, he says that you're very brave and that you always stood up for him"

Sam and Jon both turned red.

Standing up for Sam was something Jon had done without thinking about it but he knew that Sam would always be grateful for it and he also knew that Sam still felt like he owed Jon something even though in Jon's opinion he didn't.

"Well Sam has helped me out too" Jon said "if it wasn't for him I would have never been appointed head of the AV club"

Gilly smiled at Sam and she looked at him with big brown eyes.

"You've never told me about that" Gilly said.

Sam started blushing even more when he noticed that everyone was looking and smiling at him.

"Sam is too modest" Jon said and Gilly agreed with him while she nodded her head.

"Definitely" she said and she took hold of Sam's hand which looked huge in hers "he has helped me so much"

"Stop it, you guys" Sam said softly and his face had turned bright red.

Sam wasn't used to being praised because of how his father had raised him but that didn't mean that he didn't deserve to be praised from time to time.

Jon checked his watch and wondered where Ygritte could be.

He was used to her arriving whenever she felt like it but he had made her promise to be on time even if it was just this once.

The bell rang again and Ygritte entered the coffee house.

It was strange to see her in a dress for a change but it looked good on her.

He waved at her and she joined them at their table.

"Hey, Gilly, good to see you again" Ygritte said and she sounded a little bit sarcastic.

"Hello, Ygritte" Gilly said looking at the clock on the wall behind Ygritte instead of at the redheaded girl.

"You two know each other?" Jon asked his girlfriend.

"She lives at the orphanage" Ygritte answered shrugging "my friends say that her little monster keeps them up at night because it won't stop crying"

"It's a baby, crying is what they do" Gilly said and she put a protective hand on the stroller's handle.

"It's an abomination" Ygritte said with a disgusted look on her face.

"It's my son!" Gilly said almost shouting and she got up from her chair.

Her sudden movement woke the baby and Aemon immediately started to cry.

"Dammit" Gilly said softly and she picked her baby up so she could rock it back to sleep in her arms.

"Your son or your br-" Ygritte started before Jon cut her off.

"What are you doing?!" he shouted at his girlfriend.

He couldn't understand why Ygritte was being so mean to Gilly and her baby.

It couldn't really be about the crying, could it?

"This is why I didn't want to come" Ygritte said and she got up from her chair too.

"You should have given him up for adoption" the redheaded girl said "at least then you would have given him a fair chance"

That said Ygritte quickly left the coffee house and slammed the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry" Jon told Sam and Gilly who was still holding the crying baby and he followed his girlfriend out of the shop.

**Arya**

Arya left the locker room and walked into the large gym which smelled of leather and sweat.

The gym was relatively quiet, there was a woman who was running on a treadmill, a man who was lifting weights and a man who was hitting a punching bag.

No one seemed to notice her while she passed them and walked to the boxing ring at the end of the gym.

Syrio was already there and he didn't look too happy.

"You're late" he said.

Arya felt a blush spread across her face and she couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty.

She hadn't gone to her lesson at all last week and this time she was late.

Arya was afraid that Syrio was going to be even harder on her than usual but she was used to coming home with more than one bruise.

"Sorry, I was.." she started but Syrio interrupted her.

"I don't care, you're wasting time" Syrio said and he gestured that she needed to stand sideways.

Syrio was a short man with dark curls and a braavosi accent.

He had taught her something about every martial art she could think off but she didn't think she would ever be able to beat him.

"Try to hit me" Syrio said and he already looked less angry than he had done a few seconds ago.

He was a kind man as long as you stayed on his good side.

Arya did as he had told her but he easily caught her fist in his hand and he sighed.

"You need to concentrate" he said.

She sighed and tried again but Syrio blocked her effortlessly.

Arya had been making a lot of progress before she missed her lesson and she didn't get why she was doing so poorly right now.

"You'll be a dead girl if you keep this up!" Syrio said pointing at her but she knew that he didn't mean it unkindly.

"I'm just distracted" she said and she pushed her fringe behind her ear.

"What's bothering you?" Syrio asked her.

They usually didn't talk about her personal life so this was something new but she guessed that Syrio had noticed that this was something serious.

His observation skills had always been impeccable which was why he was such a skilled fighter.

She touched the coin Jaqen had given to her which she had put in her pocket and her hand tightened around it.

"I'm thinking about joining the army" she said and she bit her lip while she thought about it again.

Syrio was looking at her pocket and she handed him the coin without thinking about it.

"Valar Morghulis" she said shrugging.

Syrio looked at the coin and turned it around so he could see the other side too.

"Valar Dohaeris" Syrio said softly "do you even know what it means?"

Arya shook her head.

"It means, _all men must die_" Syrio said.

Arya didn't understand why Jaqen had given her the coin but Syrio seemed both shocked and impressed by it.

"There is an academy in Braavos" he said softly while he was still looking at the coin "maybe you could go there, if you're ready"

Arya wondered what he could be talking about and also what the coin Jaqen had given her could have to do with that.

"What kind of academy?" she asked him "and when will I be ready?"

"Practice first, questions later" Syrio said and he flipped the coin before handing it back to her with his usual smile on his face.

**Renly**

Renly was sitting behind his desk in his dorm room while the music of the guy in the room next to his boomed through the whole building.

He didn't mind too much though because he couldn't concentrate on the book in front of him anyway.

He was too distracted because he still felt bad about the fact that he had been fired by Stannis.

Robert had offered him another job of course but he still felt like he had failed somehow.

He closed his book and flopped down on his bed.

His room was a mess but that had nothing to do with the fact that he was feeling depressed.

He had had a maid when he still lived at home so he wasn't really used to cleaning up after himself.

Renly heard someone knock on his door and he got up from the bed.

He opened the door and saw the blonde girl who lived in a dorm near his.

She was pretty and Renly had noticed that she was always trying to flirt with him.

"Hey Renly" she said with that bright smile of hers "there's someone at the door for you"

"Thanks, Violet" he said smiling back at her even though his smile didn't reach his eyes.

He followed her to the front door and he noticed that it was Loras who had come to visit him and he had been expecting that more or less too.

"Hey, love" he said when he saw Loras and this time his smile was genuine and he kissed his boyfriend.

He had to admit that he thought it was kind of funny to see Violet's surprised face when she realized for the first that he was gay, maybe she was even a bit relieved that that was the reason why he hadn't been responding to her flirting.

Loras followed him to his dorm room and he closed the door behind him so they would have some privacy.

Loras sat down on the desk and he kept his eyes fixed on Renly.

"Why are you so calm?" Loras asked him eventually.

Renly shrugged.

"It has absolutely no use to get all worked up about it" Renly said "There is nothing we can do about it"

"Seriously?" Loras asked him annoyed "because of that Brienne you're fired and you don't even want to fight for your job!"

Renly laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.  
"It's not Brienne's fault, it's not like I'm accused of something I haven't done" he said "I have been dating a student after all"

"But you can still fight!" Loras said jumping off the desk.

Renly had always known that Loras was a lot stronger than he looked and he had admired him for that trait.

"Then what do you propose?" Renly asked his boyfriend.

Loras sat down on the bed next to him.

"What if we raise the money Stannis needs to save the school?" Loras asked him with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Stannis won't just accept money if we give it to him"

Loras shook his head and smiled at him.

"I said raise the money, not give him the money" he said "what if we organize a big event that helps us raise the money and gets the school a lot of positive attention in the media? That way Stannis won't be able to refuse the money!"

Renly bit his lip and he wondered if something like that would work but he couldn't come up with a reason why it wouldn't work.

"Maybe" Renly said shrugging and Loras let out a sigh.

"Don't you trust me?" he asked him.

"Of course, I do!" Renly answered and he didn't even have to think about that question.

He trusted Loras like no one else.

Loras was the first boy Renly had ever told that he loved him and it had all come natural.

"Great" Loras said smiling "it will be awesome"

Renly let out a sigh and he smiled at his boyfriend.

"You already organized something, didn't you?" he asked him.

Loras blushed a little bit and he nodded.

"I knew it" Renly said shaking his head and he kissed Loras again.

Renly had to admit that he was really glad that his neighbour's music was so loud because it would drown out the noises he and Loras were about to make.

**Cersei**

Cersei was sitting at her uncle Kevan's desk and she watched him type away on his computer.

She let out another dramatic sigh but she knew that she wasn't going to succeed in getting his attention.

Her father had dropped her off at her uncle's house last Wednesday because apparently he didn't trust her enough to leave her alone anymore.

Cersei had told him that she wouldn't be home alone if he bothered to come home from work every once in a while but her father had ignored her outburst just like he had ignored Cersei's other protests.

She had locked herself in her room for the first two days she had spent at her uncle's house and the only time she left her room was in the middle of the night when she snuck out to steal some food from the kitchen but today she had finally given in.

Her uncle's house was a bit smaller than hers but it wasn't bad.

She had stayed there before with Jaime and Tyrion when they were still too young to be left at home alone.

Cersei remembered that one time Jaime and her cousin Lancel had had a huge fight, which resulted into Lancel losing some of his baby teeth, because Lancel kept following Cersei around.

She hadn't seen him around yet but she didn't think he would be too much fun.

He had always tried to be just like Jaime but just like Jaime was just not good enough.

Only Jaime was good enough but she was starting to doubt that too.

She couldn't believe that he had rejected her and it still made her feel heartbroken.

Cersei had always thought that opening up to people was terribly difficult and after his rejection she didn't think she was going to try to do it again anytime soon.

Cersei let out another sigh and this time her uncle did look up from his work.

"Is there something I can do for you?" her uncle asked her annoyed.

"Yes, you could tell me when I'm allowed to leave" Cersei answered smiling but her uncle didn't seem too amused.

"You can leave when you're father trusts you again" Kevan said concentrating on his computer soon "I don't think that will be anytime soon though"

"You're such a good, obedient, little brother, aren't you?" Cersei muttered under her breath.

"As a matter of fact I am and I would advise you to be a good, obedient, little daughter" Kevan answered but Cersei hadn't intended on him hearing her remark.

She bit her lip and looked out of the window.

It was raining outside which just reflected the way she felt.

Cersei could feel tears burn in her eyes and she hoped that pretending to be remorseful would help her uncle convince that she wasn't as guilty as everyone said she was.

"I'm sorry" she said and a perfect tear rolled down her cheek.

Kevan looked up from his computer again and his facial expression softened even if it was just a little bit.

"I'm pretty sure that Tywin will pick you up again after the weekend, if that makes you feel any better" Kevan said.

Cersei nodded and she managed to put a sad smile on her face.

She had always known that a woman had two weapons: her sexuality and her tears and she had never been afraid to use them even though she preferred the first one.

She knew that sometimes you had to manipulate people to stay on top and a Lannister always needs to stay on top.

Kevan wasn't that kind of Lannister though.

He was perfectly happy with playing second fiddle to his older brother Tywin.

Cersei didn't think she would ever be able to do something like that.

She thought about playing second filled to Margaery Tyrell and she shuddered.

She still needed to think of something to take Margaery down before Prom.

Cersei knew that the only way to do this was to show everyone in her school that Margaery wasn't the innocent, little girl she pretended to be, but how?  
Suddenly a plan started to form in Cersei's mind and a smile appeared on her face.

A few days ago one of her friends had told her that Margaery had been flirting with Osney Kettleblack.

If Cersei managed to get pictures of Margaery cheating on Joffrey with Osney than her whole act would blow up in her face.

No one would vote for Margaery anymore and they would realize that Cersei had been the one who had been treated unfairly.

"Why are you smiling?" Kevan asked her confused.

"Well" Cersei said shrugging "there are worse places to stay for a while, right uncle?"

Kevan smiled at her but he looked like he knew she was lying.

It didn't matter in the end because he didn't press the subject,

"I'm going to see if I can find Lancel" Cersei said "if that's okay with you?"

"Sure" Kevan said smiling genuinely this time.

Cersei left the room and her smile wouldn't disappear from her face again.

Margaery might be thinking that she had won the game, but it had only begun.

Lions fight to kill.


	18. Chapter 18

Day 18: Fair Game

**Sansa**

Sansa was sitting in a chair in front of Mya's mirror.

Mya's apartment was small but cosy with knickknacks and present from her friends scattered across the room in bookcases and on little tables.

"Are you sure?" Mya asked her while she put on the plastic gloves that came with the little box.

"Yes, I'm sure" Sansa answered while her heart hammered in her chest.

"Definitely? Because there's no coming back once I've dyed it" Mya said.

"What?!" Sansa gasped and she took the box from Mya's hands "you're supposed to be able to wash it out!"

Sansa let out a sigh when she noticed that Mya had been joking and that it was possible to wash the dye out of your hair again.

"Calm your tits, girl, I'm just messing with you" Mya said chuckling "I still think you shouldn't be doing this for Mister Baelish though"

Sansa was never planning on telling Mya why she was really going to dye her hair but the girl had refused to help her if she didn't, so Sansa had given in.

"I know" she sighed "but I'm still going to do it so let's just get it over with"

"Okay, whatever you want" Mya said and after she had mixed the dye in a little plastic bowl she applied it with the brush that came with the little box.

The dye felt cold and strange and it took Mya longer to dye her hair than she had expected.

When she was finished Sansa was too nervous to look into the mirror.

Mya helped her wash her hair and after Sansa blow-dried it she had finally built up the courage to look into the mirror.

"Oh Gods" she whispered when she opened her eyes and looked at her foreign reflection.

She looked very different and a bit older somehow.

"Do you like it?" Sansa asked Mya carefully.

"It doesn't look bad" Mya answered shrugging "it looks pretty good actually"

Sansa couldn't have felt more relieved when she heard Mya say that.

"It's really different, right?" Sansa asked her smiling and she tossed her now brown hair.

"It is" Mya said and she walked up to Sansa so they were both visible in the mirror "you kind of look like me now!"

Sansa laughed and she had to agree with Mya because now they both had blue eyes and dark hair and they were both tall.

"I look like your baby cousin" Sansa said chuckling.

"Sansa Stone" Mya said playing with Sansa's hair.

Sansa shook her head.

"I need a new name for that" the Stark girl said smiling.

"Arianne? Becca? Barbara?" Mya asked her naming some common names.

Sansa shook her head.

"What about Alayne?" Sansa asked "Alayne Stone"

"Sounds good" Mya said smiling.

Sansa liked the idea of Alayne Stone.

Someone who was a little bit tougher than Sansa and someone who would finally start to stand up for herself.

"Mya, do you think Alayne could borrow some clothes from you?" she asked her friend.

"I don't know if I trust that Alayne girl" Mya said jokingly "I heard she's bastard!"

Sansa chuckled and playfully punched Mya's arm.

"What did you just call me?" she asked her pretending to be angry but failing because of her huge smile "Alayne let's no one push her around, okay?!"

Mya laughed and ruffled Sansa's new hair.

"Okay, Miss Alayne, I might have some clothes for you after all" the girl said and she opened her wardrobe for Sansa.

**Daenerys**

Daenerys was walking through the fair and she saw the green ferris wheel decorated with golden flowers and carnival booths where you could win prizes.

At first she didn't want to go to the carnival but she knew that if she wanted people to vote for her, she needed to go out there and talk to people.

There where children running around the fairground, there were students from her school trying to shoot the tin ducks in one of the booths and there were people she had never seen before in her life.

The fair was organized to raise money for the school and judging by the amount of people that had come to the fair, she was convinced that they were going to raise a good amount of money.

She was trying to find a familiar face or someone who seemed friendly enough to talk to.

Suddenly she noticed a little, blue ball on the ground in front of her and she picked it up.

A little girl was looking at her and Daenerys figured that the ball must be hers.

She threw the ball in the girl's direction and the girl smiled brightly while she easily caught it.

The girl passed the ball back to Dany and she ran away smiling so Daenerys would chase her.

Dany didn't mind though because she knew what it was like to grow up without people to play with.

Dany chased the girl and when she stopped Dany threw the ball in her direction again so she could easily catch it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Daenerys heard someone say.

She turned around and she saw Jorah who was holding a kid's arm.

"Cutpurses" he said nodding his head in the boy's direction and Daenerys noticed the little knife in the kid's hand.

"Let him go" Daenerys said and the two kids quickly ran away.

Jorah looked older than he had done when she left him and she wondered if she had been the reason for that.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

Dany had to admit that somewhere deep inside she was glad to see him but she hadn't forgiven him for betraying her just yet.

It turned out that he had been working with the people who used to blackmail her father and he had been providing them with information about her.

She knew that he had only been doing this because he wanted to be able to return to Westeros safe and she knew that he had stopped providing them with information when he got to know her better but she still couldn't forgive him which was why she had left him in the first place.

"I wanted to see how you were doing" Jorah said "Illyrio told me that you would be here, he also told me that you probably didn't want to talk to me"

He added the last thing with a guilty look on his face.

"I guess I can't trust anyone to keep his mouth shut" Dany said and she could see that her words hurt him, maybe she was being too hard on him but the Targaryens were known for their fiery temper.

"I'm sorry, Khaleesi" he said "you know that I would never let anyone hurt you"

"Sure" she said slightly sarcastic and she shrugged.

Dany turned around and strolled past the different carnival booths while Jorah walked alongside her.

She didn't tell him to go away but she didn't talk to him either.

He had called her Khaleesi which was what her Dothraki friends had called her.

It was the term for the female leader of a group Dothraki which was what she had become by dating Drogo.

No one had called her that in a long time but it would always sound familiar to her.

"Did you make any new friends here?" Jorah asked her to break the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

"Who wants to know?" she asked him.

The hurt look returned to his face and she couldn't help but start to feel sorry for him even if he didn't deserve it.

If she kept this up than he would leave again and she didn't really want him to.

It was kind of nice to see a familiar face again.

"I actually did make some new friends" she said softly and Jorah immediately smiled "You'd never believe it, but I'm running for Prom Queen"

"That's amazing, Khaleesi" he said and he tried to put an arm around her shoulder but she moved away from him.

Jorah nodded to show her that he understood that she wasn't ready for physical contact yet.

Suddenly they heard some people shouting and a crowd was gathering near the ferris wheel.

"What is going on?" Daenerys asked Jorah.

"I don't know" he said "let's check it out, stay close to me, Khaleesi"

**Robb**

Robb helped Talisa get out of his car which had finally been repaired.

"It's good to be out of the house" Talisa said with a smile and Robb linked arms with her.

He had asked Talisa to go to the fair with him and she had agreed eventually after hours of persuading her.

He knew that she needed some distraction from her studying or else she would go insane.

"Oh look they have a ferris wheel!" Talisa said.

"We can check it out if you want to?" Robb asked her with a smile.

"That would be great" she answered.

There was music playing and there were a lot of people at the carnival.

It smelled of greasy food and sugar but a fair shouldn't smell like anything else.

He thought of the times his parents had taken him and his siblings to the fair and how much fun they always had.

Robb remembered how scared Sansa had been in the ferris wheel and also how Arya had started to rock the little cart just to scare her even more.

He remembered how Bran would beg him to go with him into the haunted house again and again and again and he remembered how Theon had once won almost every single price at the archery booth to impress some girls.

"Do you want me to win you a price?" he asked her when they passed the Milk Bottle game, where you had to knock over all the bottles with tennis balls.

"Sure" Talisa said shrugging.

"That's a pretty girl, is that why you ditched Roslin?" Tion Frey asked him.

Talisa gave him a confused look but he was glad that she didn't ask him anything out loud.

He would explain everything to her afterwards.

"Let's keep walking" he told Talisa and he wanted to walk past them but another Frey boy grabbed Talisa's arm.

"You don't really need two girlfriends, do you?" Willem Frey asked Robb with a meaningful smile "I'll just take this one, okay?"

"Get your hands off her" Robb said with a clenched jaw.

"Or what?" Willem asked him and Robb punched him in the face.

Before he knew it they were surrounded by Freys.

Luckily Robb still had friends so it wasn't long before Umbers, Maderlys and Karstarks started to show up too.

"What's going on here?" Someone asked and the Frey kids parted so Jaime Lannister could get through.

"Your family can't keep their hands of my girlfriend" Robb said looking at Willem Frey who he knew was related to Cleos Frey who was Jaime's cousin.

"Why are you touching his girlfriend?" Jaime asked lazily as if he couldn't care less and he probably really couldn't.

"He was supposed to go on a date with Roslin" Willem said "so he doesn't need another girlfriend"

"Seems fair to me" Jaime Lannister said shrugging and the Freys laughed.

"Well what about my sister's birthday?" Robb asked Willem and the other boys "wasn't that punishment enough?"

He had thought about the attack some more and it had seemed more and more obvious to him that the Lannisters and Freys must have had something to do with it.

His mother had been right when she accused Cersei of planning the attack because it was really out of character for her to just help someone without expecting something in return and he didn't think the Freys were above helping her if that meant they could punish him for "ditching" Roslin.

The Frey boys couldn't hide their guilty looks and the only one who still looked relaxed was Jaime Lannister.

"I don't know what you're talking about" he said.

"So I guess it was your whore sister who planned that, right?"

Before he knew it Jaime Lannister charged at him and a left fist hit him hard.

Everyone started fighting and he couldn't see Talisa anymore while he tried to protect himself and while he tried to take Jaime down.

"Stop this now!"

**Renly**

"This is amazing, Loras" Renly said while he looked around the fairground "I can't believe that you managed to pull off all of this!"

Loras shrugged and smiled at him.

"Being filthy rich has its perks" he said with a cheeky smile.

Renly put an arm around Loras' shoulder while they walked past the carnival booths.

The only bright side of being fired was that he no longer had to hide his relationship with Loras.

He saw a few people staring at them but they would have to get used to that.

Most people didn't seem to mind though.

"Do you think we will raise enough money?" Renly asked him.

"Just trust me, okay?" Loras said laughing "it will be fine, just have fun"

Renly laughed and he pressed a kiss on Loras' forehead.

"Thank you, love" he said.

Loras blushed a little and Renly loved that he could still make him do that even if it was only on rare occasions.

"What do you want to do?" Renly asked Loras.

"We could-" Loras started until they heard people shouting.

"What's that?" Loras asked and they walked in the direction of the shouting.

Two large groups of teens had formed and it looked like they were about to start a fight.

Renly recognized Robb Stark and Jaime Lannister who seemed to be the center of the two groups.

Renly had seen Robb grow up since Ned always took his son with him when he visited Renly's older brother.

It wasn't a coincidence of course that Robb was named after Robert Baratheon since Renly's older brother and Ned Stark had always been best friends.

Once upon a time they had hoped to unite the two families into one when Robert had been hitting on Ned's sister Lyanna but that didn't work out.

She had died a few years after that and Renly still felt sick when he thought about it because she had been so young.

Renly had seen Ned's daughter Arya a few times and she looked more like Lyanna every day.

She also had the same free spirit as her deceased aunt.

Suddenly Jaime charged at Robb and the two groups of teens started to fight.

Renly looked at Loras to see what he would do about it but Loras just stared at the fight with his mouth open.

"Stop this now!" Renly shouted loudly and the teens stopped fighting except for Robb and Jaime Lannister.

Renly pushed past some of the kids until he reached Robb and Jaime and he pulled them off each other.

"What in the name of the Seven do you two think you're doing?" he asked them angrily.

The two boys started to talk loudly at the same time and Renly quickly cut them off again.

"You know what?" Renly asked them "I don't care, I am so disappointed in the both of you, is it honestly too hard to behave like civilized people?"

"He called my sister a whore!" Jaime shouted.

"And I'll do it again!" Robb shouted and they tried to hit each other again.

Renly broke them up again.

"Okay, I'm done with this" Renly said "I'm giving both of you detention"

Jaime snorted.

"You don't even work here anymore" he said.

Renly looked the Lannister boy straight into his emerald eyes.

It took a while but eventually Jaime looked away.

"That's what I thought" Renly said "and now I want both of you to leave the fair and don't even think about coming back, I want people in this school to start behaving civilized because this kind of behaviour will no longer be tolerated"

He heard someone clap and when he turned around he saw Loras and soon other people started to clap too.

Renly couldn't help but smile, maybe Loras had been right about the fact that people listened to him.

**Theon**

Theon walked back into his bedroom after having returned from the bathroom.

Jeyne was standing near the window wearing nothing but one of his shirts which hung loosely from her body.

A pale ray of sunlight peered through the curtains and shone on her.

She looked beautiful.

Jeyne had stayed over at his house and she had spent the whole night in his arms.

They hadn't done anything else because he knew that she wasn't ready for that yet especially not after what she had just been through.

Theon had loved to hold her like that because he knew that she was safe and sound.

"Good morning" Jeyne said softly when she noticed him.

"Good morning, beautiful" Theon said smiling and he walked up to her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he loved the fact that she had to stand on her tip-toes to kiss him.

Suddenly the door swung open with a loud *BANG*.

"Brother, I have returned!" Asha shouted loudly.

She looked at Jeyne with a surprised look on her face.

"Who's this?" Asha asked.

"This is Jeyne" Theon answered "she's my.. my girlfriend"

Jeyne blushed when she heard him call her that and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Your girlfriend!" Asha shouted with a huge smile and she ran up to Jeyne and hugged her "Theon's girls never stay the night and he has never ever called one of them his girlfriend before!"

Jeyne awkwardly hugged Asha back and she shot Theon a confused look.

"I want to know everything about you" Asha said looking deep into Jeyne's brown eyes "Where are you from? Are you always this adorable? Do you know the address of the person that gave you these lovely bruises so I can beat him up for you? What's your favourite colour?"

"Uh" Jeyne just said and she gave Theon a meaningful look telling him that he needed to help her.

"The guy who gave her the bruises isn't around anymore" Theon said and he put a protective arm around Jeyne's shoulder "I made sure of that"

Asha nodded and her expression became more serious.

"Good" she said "by the way did you introduce her to dad yet?"

Theon had never introduced one of his friends to his dad, except for Robb, let alone a girlfriend and he didn't know how he would react to that.

"I thought he wasn't home" Theon said.

Asha shook her head.

"We arrived here together" she said "he is in his office"

Theon nodded and he decided that Jeyne deserved to meet his father.

He didn't want her to feel like he was hiding her from anyone.

"I don't have to meet him if you don't want me to" Jeyne said looking at him with big brown eyes.

"Of course I want you to meet him" Theon said smiling.

Jeyne smiled back at him and her face lit up.

Jeyne and he got dressed properly before they went downstairs and to his father's study.

Jeyne was wearing a light, blue dress and she had braided her hair like she had done the first day of school.

He could see that she was nervous but he couldn't deny that he was nervous too.

Theon knocked on the door of his father's study and suddenly he realized that he hadn't done that in years.

"Yes?" he heard his father say from the inside and Theon opened the door.

Balon Greyjoy's study was a large and light room and one of the walls was completely made out of windows providing a view of the beach and the sea.

"Dad, there is someone I'd like you to meet" Theon said "this is my girlfriend Jeyne"

He felt his heart hammer in his chest when he noticed the annoyed look on Balon's face and he hoped that he would like Jeyne.

Jeyne walked up to Balon and stuck out her hand so he could shake it.

"Nice to meet you, Mister Greyjoy" she said with a smile.

Balon got up from his chair walked around the desk and shook Jeyne's hand and for the first time in a long time Theon saw him smiling.

"It's lovely to meet you too, Jeyne" his father said and both Asha and Theon didn't know what to say.

Theon thought that he saw tears in his father's eyes even if it was just for a second.

"What's wrong, dad?" Asha asked him.

"Sorry, Jeyne" Balon said and he looked away from the girl "you just remind me of someone I knew a long time ago"

Asha mouthed the word "mom" to Theon and he nodded.

Jeyne didn't look that much like his mother when she was young except for the fact that they both had brown hair and brown eyes but it was understandable that his father thought about her at a moment like this.

Theon had never thought about how much his father must miss his mother and how lonely he must be.

"Well, you're always welcome here" Balon told Jeyne "if you'd excuse me now, I have a call to make"

Balon left his study and he left the three of them behind.

"Wow" Asha said "I wasn't expecting that"

"Me neither" Theon said shaking his head "but I guess it went better than expected"

Asha nodded.

"Definitely better than when I brought one of my boyfriends home" Asha said laughing "I thought he was going to kill him"

"Yeah, but wasn't that some dude from Lys who didn't even speak the common tongue?" Theon asked chuckling.

Asha started laughing again.

"How am I supposed to know? I didn't understand a thing he said except for fu-" Asha started before Theon interrupted her.

"Asha, as strange as this may seem to you, I am not interested in the details of your sex life and neither is Jeyne, so if you'll excuse us we're going to the beach" Theon said.

Asha looked a bit hurt by the fact that no one seemed to be interested in her sex life but Theon knew she was just joking around.

"I can show you my boat if you want to" Theon said to Jeyne who smiled at that.

"Don't do it, it's code for his dick!" Asha shouted.

"Okay, now we're definitely leaving" Theon said and he took hold of Jeyne's hand and lead her out of the office.

"Your sister seems nice" Jeyne said when they left the house and entered the beach.

"You have no idea" Theon said chuckling


	19. Chapter 19

Day 19: Friendly Visitor

**Jaime**

Jaime was biting on the nails of his left hand while he watched Brienne and the others play.

This time he wasn't able to control the tryouts but he would have to rely completely on Barristan Selmy's judgment and Brienne's strength.

They had worked so hard on this together and he just didn't want to see her fail.

He knew that she deserved to make the team he just wished Brienne had more confidence.

"Godsdammit" Jaime said under his breath when Brienne's opposing team scored again.

Barristan had appointed her the leader of her team so if they lost that would definitely affect her chances of making the team.

The other leader was Loras and Barristan had equally divided the rest of the teenagers who were trying out or who were already members of the team over Brienne's team and Loras'.

"Come on, Brienne!" he shouted she turned her head to look at him and they tackled her.

Jaime cursed again and he was starting to lose hope.

He had never seen her play this bad before and he wondered what could be the reason for it.

"Coach, I'd like a time-out if that's possible" Jaime told Selmy.

Barristan knew that Jaime never asked for something like that so after sighing he gave in.

"Fine" he said "Time out, guys!"

Jaime gestured that Brienne should come to him and he noticed that there were tears in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked her in a hushed voice so no one else could hear them.

He did see a few students looking at them but most of them were stretching or drinking some water.

He saw Loras Tyrell cast an exceptionally nasty look in Brienne's direction and he was glad that she couldn't see him because he wasn't standing in her eye-range.

"I don't know" she said softly and Brienne quickly wiped away a tear with the back of her hand "I'll try harder, I'm sorry"

She was looking at her shoes instead of Jaime and he was starting to get really worried now.

"Brienne" he said and she looked up again and he noticed that her big, blue eyes were still filled with tears "you can trust me, what's going on?"

She bit her lip and he knew that she was too embarrassed to tell him but he would force it out of her if he had to.

"He didn't show up" she said eventually while a blush spread across her freckled face.

"Who didn't show up?" he asked her confused.

Tears were rolling down Brienne's cheeks again and she quickly wiped them away because she didn't want to cry in front of him.

She probably didn't want to appear weak to him but he would never judge her based on something like that.

"Renly" she said "It's my fault that he's fired"

He had heard about the whole Renly affair of course.

Every student had been talking about it for days now so it was hard to avoid it.

Most students were very upset because of it.

Apparently Renly had been a good teacher but the only time Jaime had ever talked to him was at the fair and that hadn't been pleasant.

No one believed that Brienne had had an affair with Renly though and they said that that was just Stannis' excuse because he was jealous of his younger, more handsome and more popular brother.

"I'm sure it's not your fault" Jaime said.

"But it is!" Brienne shouted "even Loras says so"

Jaime sighed and he ran his left hand through his blonde hair.

"I'm going to give you a choice now, Brienne" he said and the girl looked at him with her pretty blue eyes again "either you let me break Loras Tyrell's nose now and accept the fact that you're not tough enough to run with the big boys, or you go up there and fucking stand up for yourself! You want them to respect you? Make them!"

Brienne looked at him for a few seconds until she nodded and her usual determined look returned to her face.

She turned around and walked back to the field.

Jaime could see that Loras said something to Brienne but she didn't respond and she just kept walking.

Barristan blew his whistle and the students started to play again and Brienne's team completely annihilated Loras' team while Jaime cheered loudly.

**Arya**

Gendry was driving his car and Arya was sitting in the passenger seat next to him.

Gendry's adoptive family wasn't rich but they had bought him a second-hand car which he had fixed himself.

It looked pretty nice now and Arya had bought him one of those figurines you can hang from your rear-view mirror.

It was a bull of course because that was her nickname for Gendry.

The bull was swaying peacefully now while they road past different houses and streets.

Bran and Rickon were sitting on the backseat and Arya had given them their game boys which meant she wasn't going to hear a word out of them until they arrived.

Arya had decided that morning that it had no use to pout over the fact that she hadn't seen her father in such a long time and she had decided to drive to King's Landing herself or making Gendry drive her to King's Landing in this case.

Gendry hadn't want to do it at first because he thought she was just trying to runaway again but she had brought her two little brothers along to assure him that that wasn't her plan.

"Have you been to King's Landing before?" she asked Gendry while she looked out of the window.

"Yes, that's where I was born actually" Gendry said trying to make it sound as casual as possible "before I was placed with my family"

"Ow" Arya said and she felt a bit stupid that she hadn't known that.

Gendry never talked that much about his real parents because he knew nothing about them.

He had never even seen his father and he thought his mother might have had blonde hair but he wasn't sure of it.

"Have you been there before?" he asked Arya.

She nodded.

"We've been there a few times" she said shrugging "Sansa likes it"

They had been driving for a few hours now and finally the contours of King's Landing where visible at the horizon.

She bit her lip and she twirled her fringe around her finger.

"Are you nervous?" he asked her.

Arya shrugged again and she bit her lip even harder.

Gendry looked a little bit annoyed by her answer which wasn't really an answer at all.

She had always found it difficult to open up to people but she knew that if she wanted her relationship with Gendry to work out, she would have to eventually.

"A little" she said softly and Gendry's annoyed look disappeared again.

"Why's that?" he asked her.

Arya looked into his blue eyes and she forced herself to be vulnerable in front of someone for the first time in her life.

"What if he doesn't want to see me?" she asked him "what if he's too busy and I'm just distracting him from his important work?"

Gendry gave her a reassuring smile.

"Who wouldn't want to see you?" Gendry asked her "don't worry so much"

Arya couldn't stop worrying though and she was wondering if it had been a mistake to go to King's Landing.

Gendry drove into the street which lead to the Red Keep and there were people everywhere.

It was very hard to reach the large building of Baratheon Industries because there were cars wherever they looked.

Eventually Gendry decided to park somewhere because it was impossible to drive through the streets because it was just too busy.

After searching for a parking spot for about forty-five minutes they finally found one.

"Come on, boys, we're here" Arya told her little brothers who both acted like they couldn't hear her so they could keep playing.

Arya let out an annoyed sigh but Gendry wasn't so easily defeated.

He honked loudly which startled both Bran and Rickon and they couldn't pretend to be deaf any longer.

It wasn't hard to find the Red Keep since it was the tallest and biggest building in whole King's Landing.

It used to be the main building of The Royal Targaryen Enterprise but Baratheon Industries bought it after Aerys died.

They were only a few feet away from the entrance now and Rickon and Bran raced each other to the door.

"Where going to see, daddy!" Rickon shouted laughing.

There was a tall security guard in front of the building who immediately stopped them.

"Sorry, but I can't let you in" the man said but he didn't sound sorry at all.

"It's okay, we're here to see our father, Ned Stark" Arya explained.

The guard chuckled and it was clear that he didn't believe them.

"Of course, kid, and I'm Robert's younger brother" the guard said.

Arya's face turned bright red and Gendry took hold of her hand so she wouldn't punch the guard in the face.

"I actually know Renly and he's a lot more attractive than you are" Arya said.

"Why can't we see daddy?" Rickon asked Arya and he gave her a confused look.

"Yeah, why don't you explain that to him?" Arya asked the guard.

Rickon looked at the man with big eyes.

"Doesn't daddy want to see us?" he asked the man.

"Seven Hells" the man cursed and Arya could hear Bran chuckle softly "fine, I'll let you in but if I find out you were lying I'll throw you out again personally"

"Thanks, buddy" Gendry said sarcastically and they entered the building.

The hall of the Red Keep was large and shiny and a pretty woman sat behind the large, glass desk near the entrance.

"I'm looking for my father, Ned Stark" she told the secretary.

"Daddy!" she heard Rickon shout.

Arya turned around and she saw her father leaning on a can with one hand and holding a stack of papers with the other.

He had just stepped out of the elevator.

He looked a bit older and a bit thinner than the last time she had seen him but he was still her father.

"Dad!" she shouted and she hugged him so suddenly that he dropped the stack of papers on the ground.

"My little girl" Ned said while he hugged her back "I've missed you so much"

**Margaery**

Margaery had just finished painting her nails a light blue colour and she was watching a reality TV show.

She loved those little moments of peace and quiet before she had to plunge into the world of high school politics again.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and she let out an annoyed sigh.

Margaery got up from the couch and she walked to the front door.

She looked at the little screen next to the door and she noticed that it was Osney Kettleblack who had rang the doorbell.

"Oh dear" she sighed "what are you up to this time, Cersei?"

Margaery knew that Cersei had every boy on the football team at her side, except for Loras of course, and she knew that Cersei wasn't afraid to trick someone into doing something for her by using her sexuality.

Margaery knew that a woman's sexuality was a powerful weapon and she couldn't deny that she had used it before but she would never sleep with someone just to get them to do something for her.

She was above that but Cersei had once again proven that she wasn't above doing anything if it meant getting her way.

Margaery opened the gate and the front door and she waited for Osney to come to her.

"Osney, what a surprise!" Margaery said while she kissed him on both cheeks "What are you doing here, love?"

"I wanted to see you of course" Osney said and she noticed the bouquet of yellow roses he was holding.

She didn't understand why boys always bought her roses and especially why they always bought her yellow roses.

Margaery was fully aware of the fact that a golden rose on a field of green was the symbol of Tyrell Enterprises and she didn't need other people to remind her of that.

Everything she owned had already golden flowers on it.

"Oh you shouldn't have" she said smiling "thank you, love, I'll go put them in water"

Margaery got a vase from the cabinet, filled it with water and put the flowers in the vase before placing it next to a larger vase filled with even more golden roses which stood in their hallway.

She saw the slightly disappointed expression on Osney's face when he saw his bouquet standing next to the one Joffrey had given her and she had to try her hardest to keep herself from smiling.

"So is there any other reason why you're visiting me or did you just really want to see me?" Margaery asked him smiling.

"Isn't that enough?" Osney asked her smiling back at her and he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm just surprised that's all" Margaery said shrugging "I had figured that you would be at Cersei's house this weekend"

She saw the flash of fear in Osney's eyes before he composed himself again and he confirmed her suspicions.

She was sure that Cersei had sent him here, she just wasn't sure why she had sent him exactly.

"You know" he said "It really kills me to see you with Joffrey"

"Why's that?" she asked him still smiling.

"Because, I know that he isn't treating you right" Osney said.

Osney was right about that even though he didn't realize it himself.

"And you would treat me better?" she asked him biting her lip and looking at him with flirty brown eyes.

"Of course I would, love" Osney said and he tried to kiss her.

Margaery waited until he closed his eyes before she punched him in the face.

"Nice try, Osney" she said "but I'm not that easily fooled, okay? You can go tell Cersei that I won't cheat on her precious little cousin"

"You bitch!" Osney shouted while blood streamed from his nose "how the fuck did you do that?"

"I had to grow up with four brothers" Margaery said smiling her genuine smile which didn't look as sweet but a lot more beautiful "now I'm going to have to ask you to leave my house before you'll bleed on the carpet"

She showed Osney the door and closed it behind him.

Margaery checked her nails and she noticed that they still looked the same as when she just painted them and she smiled.

Today had been a good day for her.

**Jon**

Ygritte opened the front door for Jon and he entered her apartment.

He hadn't talked to her since their date with Gilly and Sam but she had called him that morning to ask him if he wanted to come over.

He had to admit that he was curious about what happened between Gilly and Ygritte and why it had pissed her off so much but he had promised himself that he would break up with her if it was something stupid.

Sam had told Jon that Gilly didn't stop crying that night after what happened at the coffee shop and Jon knew that he would have to side with his friend if it came to it.

"So what's going on?" he asked her while they walked into the kitchen.

"Just sit down for a second" she said while she handed him some tea.

She had never made him tea before because she hated it so he knew that something was going on.

"So tell me about Gilly and you" he said while he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Give me a second, okay?" Ygritte said annoyed but Jon could see that she didn't really mean it that way.

"So you know why Gilly lives at the orphanage, right?" she asked him eventually.

"Because her father abused her and she was afraid that he would hurt her child too or something, right?" Jon asked.

He only knew what Sam had told him about her and he hadn't had the heart to ask his friend more about Gilly because he could see that he didn't like to talk about it.

"More or less" Ygritte said nodding "fuck this is hard"

Ygritte turned bright red while she struggled to find the right words to say.

He had never seen her like that before because Ygritte usually just said whatever came to mind.

"Why is it so hard?" he asked her.

Ygritte sighed.

"Because I feel like it's really none of my business" she said.

"Well we've already got involved so there is no need to keep quiet now" he said and he took her hand.

She sighed one more time before she finally told him what was going on.

"I guess you could say that Gilly's father abused her in more than one way" Ygritte said while looking at the table instead of him "and then she got pregnant, do you understand now?"

Jon felt like someone had just punched him in the gut.

He didn't think that anyone deserved to go through something like that and he couldn't express how sorry he felt for Gilly.

"That's why I told her that she needs to give the boy up for adoption" Ygritte said and she looked at Jon again "he will never have a normal life if he grows up like this"

Jon nodded and he ran a hand through his hair.

"Poor, Gilly" he just said.

Ygritte nodded too.

"She loves the kid" she said "but this isn't right, it isn't natural. If the children in his class find out they'll think he's a monster and their parents will think the same, a closed adoption is his best chance"

"But she doesn't want to give him up for adoption, right?" Jon asked and Ygritte nodded.

"Her son is the only person that will always be there for her and who is depended on her and not the other way around" Ygritte said "I can understand why she doesn't want to give him up but it's the kid's best chance"

"Maybe I could talk to her" Jon said softly.

Ygritte looked at him with big eyes.

"Really?" she asked him.

Jon nodded.

"I don't know if she'll listen to me but it's worth a shot, right?" he asked.

Ygritte smiled softly at him.

"Thank you" she said.

**Sansa**

Sansa and Mya were sitting at a table far away from the table of the bride and groom but she didn't mind at all.

She had expected that her aunt would make her sit next to her cousin but Lysa had placed her son close to herself.

The ceremony had been quick but lovely and everyone who didn't know Petyr Baelish would believe that he was actually head over heels in love with Lysa Tully but Sansa had thought that his vows had sounded over the top and almost mocking when he had described Lysa's "everlasting beauty".

The music was playing and Sansa softly nodded her head to the rhythm.

"Do you want to dance?" Mya asked her who had drunk more than a little.

"Sure" Sansa said smiling and they got up from their seats.

The ballroom was decorated with the red and blue Tully colours and there was a dance floor in the middle of the room.

Only a few people were dancing but Sansa didn't care or at least she told herself that Alayne didn't care.

Mya and she moved their hips to the music while they danced and sang along to the pop music.

A boy with sandy hair walked up to them and he smiled at Sansa.

"Hello, beautiful" he said "what's your name?"

"Get lost, pervert" Mya said and the boy shot her an annoyed look.

"I wasn't talking to you" he said looking Mya up and down as if she was garbage.

Mya didn't seem to care much about his attitude towards her though but she watched him carefully while he took Sansa's hand a pressed a kiss on her knuckles.

"I'm Marillion" he said "and you are?"

"Alayne" she told him.

She knew that it was ridiculous to say that her name was Alayne but she didn't really trust the boy and his sly smile.

"What a beautiful name" he said smiling and she knew that he would still have said that if she had told him that her name was "Spotted Pate the pig's boy".

"Would you like to go for a walk with me?" Marillion asked her "it's a bit crowded here"

He said the last thing looking at Mya with that same annoyed look of his.

"No, thank you" Sansa said.

Marillion put his hand on her arm.

"Come on, beautiful, most girls don't refuse such an offer" he said and he tried to force her to come with him.

"Well then go bug those girls and not me" Sansa said and she thought it must be Alayne's courage that made her say such a thing.

Sansa would have been too afraid to refuse him anything because Sansa always wanted to please everyone.

"At least give me a kiss, beautiful" Marillion said and he leaned towards her.

"Get off me!" Sansa shouted and she shoved Marillion who fell into a table and knocked over the tall wedding cake.

Sansa heard a shrill voice shouting and when she turned around she saw her aunt with a bright red face which made her look even more ridiculous in her big wedding dress.

Little Finger tried to stop her but she was already running towards Sansa.

"You little brat!" Lysa shouted and she grabbed Sansa's arm.

She dragged Sansa out of the ballroom while she yelled at her.

"You just had to ruin it, hadn't you?" Lysa asked her "Oh you're just like Cat, you won't even give me my one special day!"

"He tried to kiss _me_!" Sansa shouted while Lysa dragged her through the hallway and to the front door "I didn't do anything wrong"

Suddenly Lysa slapped her and she left a red mark on Sansa's cheek.

"Don't you even dare!" Lysa shouted and her eyes looked creepily big as if they were going to pop out of her head "You think you're so pretty, don't you? You think that all the boys just _love_ you, don't you?"

Sansa didn't even know how to answer her questions and she just stared at her aunt with fear in her eyes.

"Don't you?!" Lysa shouted in her face and Sansa shied away.

"I don't" Sansa said and Lysa slapped her again.

"Liar!" Lysa shouted "you just love it, don't you? Making them fall in love with you and then dumping them? Oh Gods you're just like your whore mother! But you can't have my Petyr, you'll never have my Petyr, Cat, because he loves me! ME! And this time you can't ruin it! Not anymore!"

Sansa felt tears burn in her eyes while her aunt's grip on her arm tightened and she could feel Lysa's nails dig in her flesh.

"Lysa, what are you doing?!"

The both turned around and Petyr ran up to them followed by Mya.

Lysa immediately let go off Sansa and she wrapped her arms around Petyr's neck.

"She tried to take you away from me, Petyr" her aunt said crying while she buried her head in Petyr's chest.

It had something grotesque which had to do with how ridiculous Lysa looked in her wedding dress which looked like a four year old obsessed with Barbie had picked out for her and the look of disgust on Petyr's face while he held Lysa.

"Of course not, love" he said "no one can ever take me away from you"

He nodded his head in the direction of the road telling Sansa that it would be best if she left before Lysa freaked out again.

Sansa nodded and Mya followed her while they left the castle where the reception took place.

They waited until they were out of earshot before they started to talk again.

"I know that it got you into trouble" Mya said "but I just want to say that it was totally badass how you shoved that Marillion guy"

"It _was_ kind of badass, right?" Sansa asked chuckling and they both started laughing while they walked home.


	20. Chapter 20

Day 20: Expect the Unexpected

**Arya**

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Arya opened her eyes and she lazily looked at the beeping alarm clock.

She turned around again and laid her head on Gendry's chest.

...

...

"Fuuuuuuuck!" Arya shouted and she jumped out of the bed while the alarm clock still beeped away.

Gendry groaned and pulled his blanket over his head.

"Gendry, wake up!" she shouted while she quickly put on her jeans and her T-shirt.

"Five more minutes" Gendry said without opening his eyes.

"Gendry, no!" Arya shouted again and she threw her shoe at him.

"Seven hells" Gendry groaned and he finally sat right up.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and he finally understood what was going on.

"Wait, did you stay over?" he asked her.

Arya sighed while she tried to fix her hair and gathered her stuff.

"Yeah, I slept in and if we don't hurry your parents are going to find out that I staid the night" Arya said.

Gendry cursed and he finally got out of his bed.

"How far is it down from your window?"Arya asked him while she swung her backpack over her shoulder.

"I don't know" Gendry said and he opened the window for her.

Suddenly someone knocked on the door to Gendry's bedroom.

"Gendry, are you up?" they heard someone ask.

"Yeah, I'm up, mom, I'll be down in a second" he said and they were both starting to panic.

"Gendry, do you have any laundry that needs to be done?" his mother asked him.

"No, mom" Gendry said while they both walked to the window.

Arya noticed the rain-pipe near Gendry's window and she hoped that she would be able to slide down it.

"Are you sure, honey?"

"Yes, I'm sure, mom!" Gendry said and by now his mother must have noticed that something was going on.

Arya quickly pressed a kiss on Gendry's cheek and she sat down on the windowsill.

"I'll just check real quick" his mom said and they could hear the doorknob turn.

"No!" they both shouted.

"Is someone in there with you?" his mother asked.

Gendry cursed again and Arya slid down the rain-pipe while holding her breath.

"I could swear I heard another voice" she could hear Gendry's mother say while Arya landed softly on the grass in Gendry's backyard.

She wanted to make a run for it until she noticed that Gendry's father was looking at her through the kitchen window with a surprised look on his face.

They stared at each other for a few seconds until Gendry's father moved a finger to his lips, telling her that she should be quiet.

She smiled at the man and she was glad that he wasn't going to rat her out.

Arya quickly left Gendry's garden and she started walking to school.

She smile a little while she thought about last night.

It had been wonderful to see her father again and he had been very happy to see them again too.

Ned told her that he had tried to come home a few times but that it just wasn't possible.

Things weren't looking up for Baratheon Industries and Ned felt like he was personally responsible for saving his best friend's company even though Robert wasn't half as concerned as he should be.

Arya thought about the luxurious party Robert had thrown for her father after promoting him and about her father's objections to that same party.

The road back to Winterfell had seemed a lot shorted and she had gone to Gendry's house after dropping Bran and Rickon off at home and well... one thing led to another.

She didn't regret it though and she couldn't be happier about the fact that her first time had been with Gendry.

Suddenly a red car pulled up next to her.

"You look like you could use a ride" Gendry said chuckling.

"I thought you'd never ask" Arya said and she quickly got into the car.

**Margaery**

Margaery was humming while she left the parking lot and she walked to the school entrance.

She was wearing one of her favourite blue dress which matched her nail polish and high heels.

Her hair looked perfect and natural and it had taken her at least an hour to make it look that way.

She smiled and waved at a few of her friends while she past them on her way to the entrance and they immediately started giggling.

Suddenly she noticed that more people were staring at her and giggling behind their hands.

Margaery forced herself to smile though and she pretended she didn't notice it.

It was probably just in her head anyway.

She couldn't think of anything she had done that could have made them laugh at her.

Margaery made sure that she never did anything wrong or at least that people didn't notice when she did.

Margaery entered the school and suddenly her heart sank.

The hallway was covered in large pictures of her and Osney Kettleblack.

Some showed her kissing him on his cheek, others showed her accepting his bouquet of flowers and the worst ones were taken from such an angle that it seemed as if they were kissing.

In reality the last photo had been taken only a second before she had punched Osney in the face.

"Vote Margaery!" was written on some of them "Your Faithful Queen!" was written on others and they were presented in such a way that they almost looked like campaign posters.

They were even made in Tyrell colours.

She could hear more people laughing at her now but she wouldn't let them get to her.

Margaery didn't have to guess who could have done it and she couldn't wait until she got the chance to punch Cersei too but she knew that that wouldn't help her get her dignity back.

The only thing she could do now was get rid of the posters and hope that Joffrey hadn't seen them yet.

As long as she pretended that nothing was the matter than the image of her and Osney would disappear from people's minds.

At least she hoped it would because she didn't think she had another choice.

Loras entered the school too and he turned as white as a sheet while he looked at the posters.

"What's this?" he asked her.

"Cersei's token of friendship" Margaery said bitterly while she fought against the tears.

She had to pretend that it didn't hurt her but she was starting to get sick of pretending.

Margaery felt awful but how much she wanted to wrap her arms around her brother's neck and bury her head into his chest while tears streamed down her face she knew that that wasn't an option.

"Let's get rid of this filth" Loras said and she nodded.

They started to take the posters down while people started to laugh even harder.

Loras shot them one angry look and they shut up though.

"Thanks" she whispered to Loras while they continued getting rid of the posters.

"Any time, sis" he said and he gave her a sad smile.

"I am so sorry, Margaery" she heard someone say.

Margaery slowly turned around and she looked into Cersei Lannister's face who was pretending to feel bad for her but there was still a hint of a smile in her eyes.

"Did you do this?" Margaery asked her and she tried her hardest to still sound calm.

Cersei bit her lip and for a second Margaery thought she was going to fake a tear too.

"Sweetheart, don't you think you did this to yourself?" Cersei asked her.

"You cu-" Margaery started but Loras quickly took hold of her arm.

She didn't know what would have happened if she had actually attacked Cersei but she was sure it would have been satisfying.

Joffrey entered the hallway too and he looked at her as if she was a piece of garbage.

"Now I see you for what you truly are" Joffrey said "a lying, cheating whore and I can't believe you tried to set me up against my own family"

Cersei looked so content Margaery was sure that she was about to start purring any second now.

The blonde linked arms with Joffrey while she smiled at him.  
"Don't be so hard on her, Joff" Cersei said "she was just raised that way"

"Oh you'd better be careful now!" Loras said and he put a protective hand on Margaery's shoulder.

"No one is scared of you, Loras" Cersei said "you've been wrestling with Renly for a couple of weeks now and he still looks fine"

"Enough!"

They all turned around and they saw Stannis Baratheon coming out of his office.

Apparently someone had told him that a fight was about to break out.

"Everyone who isn't in his classroom within one minute will get detention" he said.

"Well, it has been lovely as always" Cersei said still smiling that satisfied smile of hers "can't wait until practice this afternoon, bestie"

Margaery watched her go into her classroom with tears in her eyes.

Cheerleading practice would be hell now Cersei was busy setting everyone up against her.

**Theon**

"Are you sure?" Jeyne asked him.

Theon nodded and somehow he managed to smile at her.

He wasn't sure at all though and his nerves were driving him crazy but he knew that it needed to be down if he wanted things to change for good this time.

Theon liked to think that Jeyne had made him brave enough to open up to people and to accept that he didn't need to be anyone else because being Theon was enough.

At least for Jeyne it was enough and he would always be grateful for that.

He took a deep breath and he walked to his former best friend who was standing near his locker.

"What are you doing here?" Robb asked him while he searched for his books.

"There is something I need to talk to you about" Theon said.

Robb snorted and he didn't even bother to look at Theon while he continued to rummage in his locker.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me anymore" Robb said bitterly "I'm the kid that made you feel like an intruder, remember? And you wouldn't want to go back to being friends with that kid, right?"

Theon bit his lip and he had to gather all his courage to say the things he was going to say.

"You're right" Theon said "I don't want to go back to how it used to be but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be your friend"

Robb closed his locker and leaned against it while he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"It didn't sound like that to me" he said shrugging.

"Well I do" Theon said "and I want to show you that I'm willing to make an effort"

Robb rolled his eyes at him and Theon realized how much he must have hurt his friend by not returning to Winterfell with him.  
"I want to throw you a party" Theon said.

"A party?" Robb asked him annoyed "and how were you planning on doing that?"

"You don't have to worry about a thing" he said "it will be at my house and I'll take care of everything"

Robb looked confused because of that and his animosity disappeared.

"Your house?" he asked "but what about your father?"

Theon chuckled nervously while he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well he wasn't too happy about it of course but eventually I was able to persuade him" Theon said "I have to give most credit to Jeyne though, he seems to like her"

"Jeyne?" Robb asked him and his friend smiled "So you guys are finally together now?"

Theon nodded.

"It took me a while to figure it out but, man, I think she might be the one" Theon said blushing.

"Seriously? Did I hear that correctly?" Robb asked laughing "Theon Greyjoy finally committed to a serious relationship!"

Theon shrugged chuckling.

"I don't even want to think about all those poor girls who will have to miss me now I have a girlfriend" Theon said shaking his head while he pretended to look sad.

Robb laughed at that and he playfully punched Theon's arm.

"Oh you're the worst, Theon Greyjoy" Robb said shaking his head.

"Yeah, but you still love me" Theon said.

Robb's expression became a bit more serious and he nodded softly.

"Yeah, I do" he said "you're my best friend and that isn't going to change"

"I feel the same way, man" Theon said with a smile.

Robb smiled back at him and Theon was glad that he had his best friend back.

"So what is this party going to be for?" Robb asked him.

"To get people to vote for you of course" Theon answered "you're still running for Prom King, aren't you?"

Robb shrugged and the smile disappeared from his face.

"I don't know" he said "Talisa needs me too"'

"What do you mean?" Theon asked him.

Robb blushed a little bit before he answered.

"She's pregnant" he said.

Theon just looked at his friend in utter surprise before he cursed loudly.

"Goddammit" he said "Man, I'm really sorry"

Robb shrugged again.

"It's not like we don't want the baby" Robb said "It's just a bit inconvenient right now"

"_A bit_ inconvenient?" Theon asked him sarcastically "I guess Cat must be thrilled about having another bastard in the family, sorry for my language, but shit this is bad!"

"Yeah, she isn't happy about it" Robb said "and I think she blames Talisa for it, she doesn't say so but you can feel it"

Theon nodded and he felt sorry for his friend.

Theon didn't even remember the number of girls he had fooled around with so he could just as easily have been in Robb's shoes right now.

"Well, if you need any help we'll be there" Theon said "I don't really know anything about babies but Jeyne's a girl so I'm sure she knows what to do"

Robb chuckled at that while he shook his head.

"Wow, Theon, did you travel all the way back to the Dark Ages for that comment?" he asked him laughing.

"Oh shut up" Theon said and he blushed a little bit.

**Cersei**

The smile on Cersei's face didn't disappear for the rest of the day and it only grew bigger while she heard people talk about Margaery's betrayal.

She made sure to tell people to leave Margaery alone every once in a while though but she never sounded convincing enough to actually make them stop talking about her.

Cersei had been looking forward to their cheerleading practice from the moment she saw the Tyrell girl's stupid smile disappear and turn into a look of despair.

Cersei and most of the other cheerleaders were already on the football field but Margaery hadn't shown up yet.

She feared for a second that the girl wouldn't show up at all but she assured herself that Margaery's pride would drive her to come to practice anyway.

Cersei knew that if she didn't come that would be as bad as confessing to the crime and she also knew that Margaery was fully aware of this.

"Maybe we should start" Megga, who was one of Margaery's closest friends, said.

"Maybe you should shut up for once" Cersei said with a sweet smile and Alla quickly put her hand on Megga's arm before she could say something stupid.

She was glad that the Tyrells and their entourage had finally accepted who their superiors were.

"I don't think Margaery is going to come" Elinor said.

"Then we're just going to have to wait" Cersei said.

"But-" Elinor continued before Taena of Myr cut her off.

"Cersei said that we have to wait and she's the head cheerleader so I don't understand why you keep pushing her"

A blush spread across Elinor's face and she quickly looked away from Cersei and Taena.

Cersei smiled at the dark eyed beauty.

Taena had just recently joined their cheer squad and Cersei had noticed that she was always trying to suck up to her.

She didn't mind though because she was sure that she could use another ally in her war against the Tyrells.

"There she is" Cersei said when she saw Margaery walking onto the football field in her cheerleading uniform "we've been waiting for you"

"Sorry, that I'm late" Margaery said.

Cersei shrugged and she tossed her long, golden hair.

"Don't worry, Marg, you're having a rough day" Cersei said "We understand"

Taena chuckled and she noticed a few other cheerleaders giggling too except for Alla, Megga and Elinor who immediately walked up to Margaery.

"Thanks, Cers, you're a real saint" Margaery said as sarcastically as possible.

"Dear, I'd almost think you didn't mean that!" Cersei said while she pretended to be hurt and surprised by Margaery's comment.

"Don't take it personally, Cersei, Margaery didn't get much sleep last night because she was _busy_ with other stuff" Taena said and she put her hand on Cersei's arm.

The cheerleaders laughed again and Margaery went as white as a sheet.

Cersei could see tears glister in Margaery's eyes and she wondered how far she could push her.

"Let's just start, okay?" Margaery asked and Cersei could see that she was fighting back her tears.

"Sure, honey" Cersei said "by the way, I'm thinking about rearranging the pyramid and I was just wondering if you like to be on top or not, I mean, we could just ask Osney but-"

"Won't you ever stop?!" Margaery shouted while she interrupted Cersei "what have I ever done to you?"

Cersei looked at her with narrowed emerald eyes while tears streamed down Margaery's face.

"You know what you've done" Cersei said simply and Margaery started to cry even harder while Alla, Elinor and Megga tried to comfort her.

"So this is all about me running for Prom Queen?" the Tyrell girl asked "So that's the reason why you manipulated those pictures? Why you're trying to ruin my life? "

Cersei was starting to feel uncomfortable while more and more cheerleaders were starting to shoot her accusing looks.

"I didn't manipulate the pictures" Cersei insisted but she could hear that it didn't sound too convincing.

"No, of course not!" Margaery shouted and she clearly didn't believe her "well, I hope it was worth it because you just lost the only friend you ever had"

Alla, Elinor, Megga and Margaery walked away from the football field and a few cheerleaders tried to follow them.

"Where in the name of the Seven do you think you're going?!" she shouted at the girls who had tried to follow the Tyrells "get back here! We're going to practice!"

The girls didn't come back though and more cheerleaders followed them while Cersei shouted at them and called them names.

Eventually she was the only one left at the football field and even Taena had left her.

**Daenerys**

Daenerys' short, silver dress looked beautiful on her and it made her want to spin around to see the fabric swirl.

She could see that Jon wasn't used to seeing her in a dress and he kept looking at her when he thought she didn't notice it and even though she was flattered, she wished that he just kept his eyes on the road.

They were driving to the Smoking Log which was a pub near Winterfell and they were going to see Jon's little sister's band perform there.

Tyrion had told Dany that that would be another perfect opportunity for her to get to know people since she hadn't done that as much yet as he had liked her to.

Tyrion had told them that afternoon that he wasn't going to make it though but Daenerys wondered if he was just trying to get her and Jon to be alone together again.

She had noticed that he had been trying that more and more often lately which annoyed her sometimes since Jon had a girlfriend and she didn't want to be a home wrecker.

Daenerys couldn't deny that she was attracted to Jon though and since he quickly looked at her again while he should be driving she thought it was safe to say that he was attracted to her too.

Jon pulled up to the sidewalk and they got out of the car when they reached the Smoking Log.

They couldn't park directly in front of it though since there were already a few cars there which meant that they had to walk for a little bit.

"Seems like it's going to be busy" Daenerys said while she looked at the row of cars.

"Yeah, I guess so" Jon said smiling a little "Arya's going to be thrilled"

Daenerys shivered while the autumn wind tugged at her light dress.

Jon quickly took off his jacket and gave it to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked him.

"Yeah, that's okay" he said shrugging "the cold never bothered me anyway"

He put an arm around her and they walked together to the Smoking Log.

It was a lot warmer inside and she was glad that she recognized so many people from school.

"Jon!" she heard someone shout and a short girl with dark hair wrapped her arms around Jon's neck.

She looked a lot like Jon and Daenerys figured that she must be Arya.

"There are so many people here!" the girl said clapping her hands and Daenerys noticed that she owned a band shirt just like the one the girl was wearing.

Arya was right though because the pub was packed with teenagers.  
"I know" Jon said "are you nervous?"

Arya chuckled and she shook her head.

"Nah, it's going to be fun" she said.

A boy with black hair and blue eyes walked up to Arya and he put his arm around her shoulder.

"Babe, we need to do a sound check" the boy said.

"Don't call me that" Arya said while playfully punching him but she went with him to the stage nevertheless.

"Well that was my little sister Arya" Jon said awkwardly and Dany smiled at him.

"Yeah, I already thought so" she said.

A boy who was standing next to the bar waved at them and she recognized him as Robb Stark.

He was Jon's half-brother, just like Arya was his half-sister of course, and he was running for Prom King.

Daenerys linked arms with Jon which surprised him at first and they walked up to Robb and his friends.

"Guys, this is Daenerys" Jon said while he introduced her to them "Daenerys, these are Robb, Jeyne and Theon"

"Nice to see you again, Daenerys" Jeyne said and Dany remembered that she had been the girl who almost passed out during biology.

The boy Jon had introduced as Theon had put his arm around Jeyne's waist and she figured that he was her boyfriend.

It was strange to see Jeyne without her former boyfriend Ramsay Bolton.

"You're running for Prom Queen, right?" Robb asked her.

Daenerys almost felt guilty while she nodded.

"Yes, I am" she said.

"No need to feel guilty" Robb said quickly while he noticed the look on her face "I think it's cool that you're running for Prom Queen, it's a great way to get to know people, right?"

She nodded again but this time with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, it's a nice way to make friends" she admitted.

She didn't think she would have become so close with Jon or Tyrion if they hadn't made her a candidate.

"By the way, do you guys want a drink Theon is buying?" Robb asked them and they laughed.

"In your dreams, Stark" Theon said and he playfully punched his friend.

"I thought you were going to make it up to me!" Robb said pretending to be hurt by Theon's comment.

"You're going to make this real hard on me, aren't you?" Theon asked him shaking his head with a smile on his face.

"Jup" Robb said "so what do you guys want?"

"I'll have a beer" Jon said "and what do you want, Dany?"

"Wine, if that's okay" she said and Jon, Robb and Theon walked away to order their drinks.

Jeyne smiled at Theon while he walked away and she waited until he was out of earshot before she talked to Daenerys.

Jeyne was wearing a cream, lace dress and a leather jacket and she rolled up the sleeves to show Daenerys her wrists.

"Almost gone" she said proudly while Dany watched the almost completely faded bruises "I left him"

Daenerys had seen Jeyne's bruises for the first time after that biology lesson and she had immediately suspected that her boyfriend had something to do with it so she was glad to hear that they weren't together anymore.

"That's great, Jeyne" Daenerys said smiling and she was glad that the girl was doing better now.

"Is thanks to Theon though" she said "he's my hero"

Dany smiled again and she couldn't help but think of Drogo when she heard those words.

He had been her hero too when he saved her from her brother.

The boys returned with their drinks and Theon put his arm around Jeyne's waist again as if he had never left.

"Well, Kyra sure as hell wasn't glad to see me" Theon said.

"She didn't spit in our drinks, right?" Jeyne asked who had just been about to drink from her glass of wine.

"No, I don't think so" Theon chuckled.

Daenerys drank from her own glass after Theon reassured her that nothing weird had happened to it.

"Who is Kyra?" she asked him.

"My ex" Theon answered uncomfortably "and she works here"

Daenerys turned around and she saw a girl standing behind the bar who shot them a dirty look and she thought she had an idea what had been the reason for their breakup and it probably had something to do with Jeyne.

"Daenerys, do you play an instrument?" Jeyne asked her while she looked at the stage where the rest of Arya's band members were still sound checking.

"Not really" she said "I used to sing though"

"Really?" Jeyne asked her smiling "I'm the singer of the band that's going to play tonight!"

"Yeah, I sang when I was younger but-"

"You have to sing tonight!" Theon interrupted her and Jeyne nodded immediately.

"Yes, sing with me!"

Daenerys looked at Jon and she hoped that he would support her because she hadn't sung in public for years and she didn't think she was good enough.

"Well, it would get you some positive attention" Jon said carefully.

"Thanks, Snow" Dany said softly so only Jon could hear her and he immediately blushed.

"It's settled then" Jeyne said "you're going to sing with me tonight"

"I really don't want to" Dany said but Jeyne had already taken hold of her hand and she was dragging her in the direction of the small stage.

"Can Daenerys sing with us?" Jeyne asked the boy with the dark hair and the blue eyes while Daenerys shook her head.

Daenerys couldn't shake her nerves until the band finished sound checking and Jeyne and she climbed on the small stage.

It seemed as if everyone was looking at her and she wondered if she could still runaway but she figured that that wasn't an option anymore.

"It'll be fine" Jeyne said and she smiled at Daenerys.

"Jeyne, how much wine did you have today?" Dany asked her but her friend pretended she didn't hear her.

"Are you all ready?!" Jeyne asked the audience and the people cheered "Boys and Girls, we are the outlaws and tonight we have a very special surprise for you, her name is Daenerys Targaryen and she is the Dragon Queen!"

The audience clapped again and Dany heard some people shout her name.

She smiled at them and she could slowly feel her nerves disappear.

Daenerys sang with Jeyne and even though it didn't always sound like she wanted it to everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The audience was cheering, singing and dancing and Daenerys was starting to suspect that Jon had asked Arya and Jeyne beforehand if they would let Dany sing with them.

She didn't mind though because the audience seemed to love it and she had the time of her life.

Daenerys just hoped that it would persuade people to vote for her.


	21. Chapter 21

Day 21: Child's play

**Sansa**

Sansa rang the doorbell to her aunt's house and she couldn't deny that she felt a little bit uncomfortable.

The memory of her aunt's outburst was still fresh and she didn't plan on going to her house any time soon until Petyr had called her.

He had been so nice to her and he had saved her from her aunt so Sansa didn't think that it would be polite to refuse him anything.

The door opened for her and Petyr appeared in the doorway.

"Sansa, dear, I'm so glad that you could make it" Petyr said and she had to admit that he did look a little bit stressed.

"Of course" Sansa said smiling "so what was the problem you needed my help with?"

"Just follow me" Little Finger said and she followed him into the house.

Lysa Tully's house was large and luxurious with cream walls and large windows.

There was art everywhere and Sansa didn't doubt that it had once belonged to Lysa's late husband, Jon Arryn.

Sansa didn't remember much about Jon Arryn but she knew that he had been a good friend to her father.

Jon Arryn had already been old though when he married Lysa and it wasn't hard for people to see that Lysa wasn't happy at all about her marriage.

Sansa followed Petyr to the living room where Robin Arryn was sitting on the floor clutching his doll to his chest while tears streamed down his face.

"Can you, please, watch him for me, Sansa?" Petyr asked her "I'm very busy and I'm sure he will like you"

"I don't know" she said softly.

She wasn't looking forward to babysitting Lysa's spoiled child especially not since he looked like he was about to throw a tantrum.

"It would mean the world to me, Sansa" Petyr said looking deep into her blue eyes until she was starting to feel uncomfortable "I'm sure that it will make Lysa like you better too, don't you want to patch things up with your aunt?"

Sansa was starting to feel like saying no wasn't an option but she figured that saying no hadn't been an option since she agreed to come to Lysa's house.

"Okay, I guess I can watch him for a few hours" Sansa said still looking at the sobbing boy.

"Thank you so much, Sansa, you are too kind" Petyr said and he hugged her quickly.

Petyr then disappeared into his office and he left Sansa and Robin alone.

"Hello, Robin" Sansa said smiling and she sat down on the floor next to the boy "what are you doing?"

"I was playing" he said looking at her as if he was trying to find out if he could trust her "where is my mommy?"

"Lysa is working, love, but we can play together if you want to" Sansa said trying to win his trust.

Robin's eyes immediately welled up and he started to cry again.

"No, you're not my mommy!" Robin shouted "I want my mommy"

Sansa sighed and she tried to figure out what she should do.

She had babysit her younger siblings of course but they had almost never thrown a tantrum except maybe for Arya but that was very different.

"Don't cry, love" she said and she wiped away Robin's tears with a paper tissue from her purse "you're a big boy, right?"

"Yes" Robin said nodding while his lip still quivered.

"Then you don't need mommy for a few hours, right?" Sansa asked him "we can play too!"

Robin nodded again and he seemed to have calmed down for now.

"I'm Sansa, by the way" she said with a smile.

"I'm Robin Arryn" the little boy said with a hint of pride in his voice.

Sansa walked to the dollhouse which was standing in the middle of the living room and she picked up one of the dolls.

"Do you want to play with these?" she asked him.

Robin nodded again and he went up to her.

"So can I play with this doll?" she asked him.

Robin shook his head and she put it back where she had found it.

"What about this one?" she asked him while picking up another doll.

Robin shook his head again and Sansa was starting to get annoyed.

"Well, with which one would you like me to play?" Sansa asked him.

"None!" Robin suddenly shouted and he started to cry again "they're mine and mommy's!"

Suddenly Robin started to shake heavily.

Catelyn had told Sansa before that her cousin often had seizures like that but she had never seen it up close.

"Petyr!" she shouted while she took Robin's hand and she tried to comfort him.

Her touch only seemed to make him shake more.

"Petyr, come quickly!" Sansa shouted and she was starting to panic.

What if Robin accidently hurt himself?  
His mother would never forgive her.

Suddenly she heard the front door being unlocked.

"Robin, mommy is home!" she heard someone say and Sansa felt somewhat relieved.

She didn't care how much Lysa was going to yell at her at least the woman would know what to do about her son's seizure.

Lysa entered the living room and she quickly ran to Robin when she noticed what was going on.

"Sweetheart, what has she done to you?" Lysa asked her son.

Petyr entered the room too while holding Robin's medicine.

Sansa figured that he had fetched the medicine as soon as he heard Sansa shout and understood that something was wrong with Robin.

"I want you to get out of my house!" Lysa yelled at Sansa "you've ruined my wedding and now you've hurt my son!"

"I didn't do anything!" Sansa shouted but she got back on her feet anyway.

"I'm sorry, Sansa, I didn't know that this would happen" Petyr said.

"Of course not" Sansa muttered under her breath but she didn't dare to say anything out loud.

Robin calmed down after Petyr gave him his medicine and the boy seemed to have gone to sleep.

Lysa was crying while she cradled the boy's head in her lap.

"This is your fault" Lysa said looking at Sansa with a disgusted look on her face.

"Sansa, is right" Petyr said "she didn't do anything wrong and I was the one who asked her to babysit him anyway"

"So you're taking her side again?!" Lysa shouted while she stroked Robin's hair.

Sansa thought Petyr was about ready to slap Lysa and he no longer tried to hide his true feelings.

"You need to stop being so jealous!" Petyr told her.

"How can I?" Lysa asked him "while she tries to take you away from me!"

"Lysa, I've only ever loved one woman" Petyr said.

Lysa's expression immediately softened.

"Really, Petyr?" she asked him and the tears rolling down her cheeks were of joy now and not of despair.

"Really" he said smiling and he hugged her.

Sansa guessed that that was a good time for her to leave them alone and she quietly left her aunt's home.

She didn't believe Petyr for a second when he told his aunt that he had only ever loved her but she wasn't looking forward to getting caught up in their troubles so decided to just go home instead.

**Jon**

The orphanage was large and old but clean.

There were pictures on the walls of people who had run the orphanage and the children who had been there.

Every year they seemed to have taken another picture.

Some were still in black and white and displayed Septas en children in uniform.

The Septas seemed to have disappeared over the years though just like the uniforms.

He saw a picture with a younger Ygritte on it and he immediately recognized her red hair and her pug nose.

Someone seemed to have forced her into wearing a dress and she didn't seem to be too happy about it.

Jon recognized more children in the modern pictures since he had seen them at Ygritte's house before.

"Hello, Jon" he heard a soft voice say.

He turned around and looked into the shy face of Gilly.

Her brown hair fell into her eyes while she kept looking at the baby in her arms instead of at Jon.

"How are you, Gilly?" he asked her carefully.

He didn't even know how he could start their conversation.

The thought of what Gilly's father had done to her was just too horrible.

"I'm fine" she said shrugging "we can go to my room if you want, we'll have more privacy there"

"Sounds good to me" Jon said and he suddenly noticed that a few children were looking at them through the window in the kitchen door.

Jon followed Gilly up the large, wooden staircase and to the first floor.

There was a large hallway and there were doors on each side of it.

Children were running from one door to another while they could hear loud music blast from some rooms and people shouting from others.

Gilly managed to manoeuvre past the running and shouting children and they went into the door at the far most right.

Gilly closed the door behind him and she shut out some of the noise.

The room was very small and Jon noticed that she had to share it with someone else.

The only pieces of furniture in the room were a bunk bed, a crib and an old wooden wardrobe.

Gilly sat down on the bottom bed of the bunk bed and Jon decided to stand since there wasn't really any other option left.

"I guess that Ygritte must have told you horrible things about me" Gilly said while cradling her baby.

"Not at all" Jon said.

Ygritte had told him horrible things about Gilly of course but not in the way Gilly meant.

"She did tell me about what happened to you" Jon said softly.

"And now you think my son is a monster" Gilly said and tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"No, Gilly, I don't" Jon said and he decided to sit down next to her on the bed anyway so he could look into her eyes "I think you're very brave for leaving your father"

The young girl looked at him with her big, brown doe eyes.

"You do?" she asked him.

Jon nodded.

"I do" he said "it must not have been easy"

Gilly smiled a little while she looked at her baby.

"I had to leave for him" she said "I'd do anything to keep him safe"

Jon smiled too while he looked at the little baby and he wondered what his own mother had been like.

Did she love him as much as Gilly loved her child?

When he was younger he always imagined that his mother didn't want him because he was a mistake and a bastard but maybe his mother had known that his life would be better if he grew up with his father's family.

"I know you will" Jon said "but there are some things you can't protect him from"

Tears started to well up in Gilly's eyes again.

"I don't want to give him up" she said softly "he is all I have"

He put an arm around her shoulder and surprisingly she didn't push him away.

"He can't live a normal life like this" Jon said "you won't be giving him up, but you will be giving him a chance"

"I know" Gilly said while she laid down her head on his shoulder and cried "but I don't want to, because then I'll be alone again"

Aemon looked at Gilly as if he wanted to ask her what was wrong and he feared that the baby would start to cry soon too.

Gilly noticed it too and once again she surprised him by showing him how strong a mother could be if it concerned her child.

She sat up straight again and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Don't worry, honey" she said and she even managed to smile a little at the baby "mommy is fine"

A smile immediately appeared again on the baby's face and Jon couldn't even imagine how hard it must be for Gilly to give up her baby.

"I met this family when I just moved her" she said softly "they were looking for a child to adopt"

"Did you like them?" Jon asked her.

Gilly nodded.

"They seemed kind" she said.

"Maybe we should call them" Jon said "it doesn't hurt to talk to them again, right?"

"I guess not" she said her voice still barely louder than a whisper.

She looked up at him again and she gave him a small smile.

"Thank you, Jon" she said.

**Arya**

Arya was sitting on top of one of the workbenches in the garage while she watched Gendry work on the pickup truck.

Well to be honest the only thing she could really see were his legs while he was underneath the truck on top of one of those skateboard things.

She thought she had heard him call it a creeper but Arya didn't really know anything about mechanic stuff and she didn't want to know it either.

Gendry's father was a mechanic and he had been teaching Gendry how to fix a car since he was just a kid.

Gendry didn't need his father's help anymore though so every once in a while his father would pass a costumer on to Gendry.

Arya knew that Gendry was saving the money he made by that to pay for college when he would graduate from High School.

"Can you give me that wrench over there?" Gendry asked her and Arya jumped off the table.

"Which one?" she asked him while looking at a set of wrenches which only varied in size.

Gendry rolled out from under the car on the creeper and pointed at the wrench he wanted.

"That one" he said and she tossed it at him.

Gendry easily caught the wrench with one hand, thanked her and slid back under the car so all she could see of him were once again his in grease covered jeans.

Arya walked around the garage and looked at a few tools before she spook to him.

"I think your dad knows that were sleeping together" Arya suddenly told him as casual as possible.

*BANG*

Arya quickly turned around and she saw Gendry sliding out from under the car while rubbing his forehead.

Apparently she had surprised him so much that he had accidently bumped his head against the car.

She tried not to laugh at that but his bewildered look was pretty funny.

"Relax, he's probably just happy for you" Arya said chuckling.

That seemed to have made Gendry feel a little bit better at least.

He got off the creeper and he wiped his hands clean on a rag which Arya didn't believe to be completely clean either but she didn't comment on it.

She liked seeing Gendry work.

"Since they know that we're dating, maybe you could introduce me to them or something" Arya said once again trying to sound casual.

"What do you mean?" Gendry asked her "my parents already know you"

Arya rolled her eyes at him before answering.

"They know your friend Arry" she said "They don't know your girlfriend Arya"

Gendry laughed and he wrapped his arms around her.

Arya could easily imagine her sister's reaction if a guy had pressed himself against her while he was still wearing his greasy work clothes but Arya didn't mind.

"Will you wear a dress when I introduce you?" he asked her teasing "And high heels? And a matching purse?"

"No, but feel free to wear it in my place" she said annoyed and she tried to push him off her.

"I'm just kidding" he said smiling and he pressed a kiss on her forehead "I just never imagined that you would be the first one to take things serious"

She managed to free herself from his hug at last and she gave him an annoyed look while she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm not!" she said and Gendry laughed again.

She could feel a blush spread across her face and she felt embarrassed somehow.

If Gendry told her that he wasn't ready yet to take things serious then that would break her heart but because she was as stubborn as she was she would never tell him.

"Yes, you are!" Gendry said "but it doesn't matter because I would love to introduce you to my family"

"Good" she said and she allowed him to hug her again "but I'm not wearing a dress!"

Gendry laughed while he held her.

"Will you wear a dress to Prom though, this Friday?" he asked her.

"I don't know, are we going to Prom?" she asked him in return.

"Of course, because you're my girlfriend and we're going to do everything together from now on because we're like super, totally serious" Gendry said teasing her again.

She once again freed herself from his hug and she walked to the door with an angry expression on her face and her hands clenched into fists.

"Arya, where are you going?" he asked her.

Arya turned around and shot him a mean look.

"You're making fun of me!" she said.

"Come on, you know I didn't mean it that way" Gendry said.

Arya shrugged and she flicked her fringe.

Suddenly a smile spread across her face as she remembered something.

"Oh well, you'll regret it when I'll introduce you to my family later this week" Arya said "I have four brothers remember?"

"Oh come on, Rickon is like five or something!" Gendry said but she could see that he was starting to worry already.

Arya shrugged.

"Well my father promised that he was going to come home soon" Arya said "maybe my uncle Benjen will pay us a visit too"

The smile on Gendry's face had disappeared completely now.

"You know I was just kidding, right?" Gendry asked her and this time it was her turn to laugh.

"Maybe I should tell them that we've slept together too" Arya continued "it's not really fair that your parents know and mine don't, don't you think?"

"Please, Arya, they'll kill me!" Gendry said and she chuckled again.

"Come on, you know that I didn't mean it that way!" she said repeating his words.

This time they both started laughing and she was really glad to have Gendry in her life.

She was a bit nervous about the whole Prom thing though.

**Theon**

Theon hadn't been to the institution where his mother lived in a long time and he felt both guilty and nervous.

The glass, automatic doors opened for Theon and Jeyne and they entered the light hallway.

There was a large, white desk and a middle-aged woman was sitting behind it.

The woman had been working at the institution for as long as Theon could remember and when he was younger she always gave him a lollypop on his way out.

"Hello, I'm here for Alannys Greyjoy" Theon told the woman.

"She's in her room, Theon, I'll tell the nurses that you're on your way over there" the woman said smiling.

He guessed that it was a good sign that the secretary hadn't forgotten his name yet in his absence.

Theon walked into the hallway which led to his mother's room.

He didn't have to check the signs because he knew the route by heart.

Asha had dragged him through the hallways countless of times after his father stopped taking them to visit their mother.

"If you're not comfortable with this then we don't have to go, you know" Theon said.

He wasn't ashamed of his mother but he didn't feel completely comfortable with showing her to Jeyne either.

Theon didn't know in what kind of state his mother would be.

"I'll be fine" Jeyne said and she smiled at him.

"She might not even recognize me" Theon said "maybe we should just go..."

Theon stopped walking and Jeyne looked at him with those big, brown eyes of her.

"If you really don't want to see her then we don't have to" Jeyne said "but you can't avoid her forever, she's your mother after all, and even though she might not recognize you I'm sure that she will appreciate the company"

Theon sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Okay, fine, let's go" he said shrugging and he pretended that he didn't really care anyway.

It was easier that way sometimes.

Jeyne sighed too but she didn't comment on his attitude.

The door to his mother's room was open and her nurse just left.

"Oh there you are" the red-haired woman said and she smiled at him.

Theon was surprised to see that his mother had been assigned a new nurse but maybe it wasn't so surprising at all considering the fact that he slept with her former, younger and prettier nurse in the supply closet.

He still hadn't figured out yet if he should be proud of that or not.

"Alannys, your son is here to see you" the nurse said.

"Rodrick?" he could hear his mother ask and if it wasn't for Jeyne that that would have been the moment he left again.

Jeyne entered the room however and since he was holding her hand he followed her.

Alannys Greyjoy was sitting in her chair near the window and she was looking outside of it.

Theon was glad to see that they had put her in normal clothes again because the hospital gown in combination with her long, white hair had made her look like a ghost.

There was a large bouquet of fresh flowers on the nightstand next to his mother's bed and Theon wondered if his father had visited her recently.

He never told Theon or Asha when he visited their mother but Theon knew he did regularly.

"Hey, mom, how are you doing?" Theon asked her but she just gave him a confused look while she tried to figure out if she knew him.

"Theon?" she asked him eventually and her voice sounded hoarse.

"Yes, it's me mom" Theon said.

She looked him up and down and started smiling.

"You have grown so much!" his mother said "Look how handsome you have become, my baby Theon!"

She was always surprised to see how much he had grown which wasn't strange if you considered the fact that he would always stay ten years old in her mind which was the age he had been when his brothers died.

He felt a bit embarrassed when she called him "baby Theon" but Jeyne didn't seem to have noticed or else she pretended she hadn't.

"Hello, Misses Greyjoy" Jeyne said with a smile while she sat down in a chair next to his mother's "I'm Jeyne"

"Is this your girlfriend, Theon?" his mother asked him while she took Jeyne's hands into hers.

Theon nodded and he couldn't help but smile.

"I've always wanted another daughter" Alannys said "I only ever had sons and Asha was just like a boy sometimes"

Theon knew that she would start to ask for Rodrick or Maron any time now but Jeyne seemed to be in control of the situation.

"My mother always wanted a son" Jeyne said "she had five daughters"

"Five daughters?" his mother asked laughing "I can't even imagine what that must be like"

Jeyne laughed too and Theon was glad to see that they got along.

"Well, it can be a bit much sometimes" Jeyne admitted.

"That I can imagine" Alannys said and Theon saw some of her old self return "my older sister Gwyness and I used to fight like crazy over the dumbest things"

Theon and Jeyne stayed at the institution for a while until the nurse asked them to leave so Alannys could get some rest.

He was really glad that he had introduced Jeyne to his mother even though he knew that Alannys wouldn't remember much of it.

**Tyrion**

The library of Castely Rock was completely dark and the only light that entered the room was the moonlight which shone through the windows.

Tyrion was sitting in the window seat and he rested his head against the cool glass of the window while he drank from his glass of wine every once in a while.

He had been looking for something to read and something to drink to take his mind off things which was the reason why the floor was covered in open books and empty bottles.

He had given up on the reading part because it didn't distract him from his sorrows as much as he had wanted it to.

The drinking seemed to help though or at least it had at first but now there was nothing he could do to keep his mind of Shae.

He missed her and he hated her which wasn't the best combination.

Tyrion heard someone knock on the library door and he didn't have to guess who it was.

Jaime had been trying to confront him for a while now but he had always succeeded in avoiding him.

The wine had made him tired so he didn't think he was going to succeed this time.

It didn't really matter anyway, he had always known that he would have to talk to his brother sooner or later.

"Come in" he said and he drank some more.

Maybe the wine would take him off to a dreamless sleep before Jaime had the chance to talk to him.

Tyrion smiled a little bit at the thought of his brother trying to apologize before he noticed that Tyrion wasn't even awake.

Jaime entered the library and he immediately flicked the light on.

Tyrion quickly closed his eyes but it was already too late and he could feel a headache coming up.

"What do you want?" he asked his brothers while he kept his eyes closed and he massaged his temples.

"I just want to talk to you" Jaime said "I didn't think you were going to give me the chance to"

Tyrion couldn't help but notice the bitterness in his brother's voice while he added the last part.

Tyrion let out a sigh.

"I'd be more than glad to listen to your apology but it's going to be hard if I can't see you, so would you be so kind as to turn the light back off?" Tyrion asked his brother.

He could hear Jaime sigh and the lights turned off after he heard a soft and familiar *click*.

Tyrion opened his eyes again and he shifted in his seat.

"Will you listen to me now?" Jaime asked him and he sounded annoyed again.

"Sure" Tyrion said "just don't expect me to forgive you easily"

Tyrion didn't like his brother's attitude one bit.

The only thing Tyrion might have in common with his sweet sister was the fact that they both were fairly unforgiving and the fact that his brother wasn't exactly begging for forgiveness didn't help this either.

"I know that it seems like a dick move, okay? But I just wanted you to feel confident for once and I thought that this would help you feel like that" Jaime said "I didn't know what kind of girl Shae was and if I had known that she would keep up the charades for so long then I would have never gone through with the plan"

Tyrion snorted and he took his mismatched eyes of his brother.

"I wish I had two heads" Tyrion said "so one could cry for your heartbreaking tale while the other laughed at you for your pathetic attempt at winning back my trust"

A blush spread across his brother's face and Tyrion smiled somehow.

He wanted his brother to feel as horrible as he had done when he just found out what happened.

"So you're telling me that you did it because you felt sorry for me?" Tyrion asked him "Do you often feel sorry for your ugly, little brother when you look into the mirror? because I don't want you to, I don't appreciate it and I don't need it"

Jaime was no longer blushing but he had gone as white as a sheet.

Tyrion was enjoying it somehow.

"I'll feel sorry for you though when I'm CEO of LannisCorp" Tyrion said while he got up from his seat and walked past his brother.

"Dad will never give LannisCorp to you before me" Jaime said.

Tyrion laughed at that.

"Some men might think that father is a God but he isn't, dear brother" Tyrion asked him "and all mortal men die sooner or later"

Jaime looked at him with a shocked look on his face.

Tyrion just realized that his words had sounded like a threat but he didn't take it back.

Tyrion preferred his brother thinking that he was a monster over his brother thinking he was someone who deserved pity.

Smiling he left the library while his brother's shocked look turned into one of disgust.


	22. Chapter 22

Day 22: Winning Souls

**Jon**

Jon entered the AV room and he sat down behind his usual desk.

"Hey, Sam" he told his friend smiling while he put down a cup of tea in front of him which he had just gotten from the cafeteria.

Usually there was no tea there but Three-Finger Hobb, who ran their school's cafeteria, liked the AV club and he was always willing to make them some tea if they asked him nicely.

Three-Finger Hobb had been a member of the AV club too when he was their age but somewhere along the line he had strayed from the path which was why he now worked in their cafeteria as his community service.

Jon noticed that Sam didn't greet him or thank him and he wondered what was going on.

"What's up?" he asked his friend but the boy didn't answer.

He hunched over some more while he was rapidly typing something on his computer.

"What's wrong?" Jon asked confused.

"I am not talking to you" Sam said.

Jon knew that he could make a smart remark like "well you just did" but he also knew that this would only start a conflict.

"Why not?" Jon asked Sam.

Samwell tried one more time to give Jon the silent treatment but he quickly gave in.

The fat boy let out a sigh and turned his swivel chair so he could look Jon in the eyes.

"How could you do something like that?" Sam asked him.

Jon was starting to understand what this was all about and he couldn't help but blush.

"Is this about Gilly?" Jon asked his friend carefully.

"Yes, this is about Gilly!" Sam answered and Jon could see tears in his friend's eyes.

Confronting someone had never been Sam's biggest talent so Jon figured that he had really done it this time.

"What did she tell you?" Jon asked him.

Sam's turned his chair again so Jon couldn't see that he was crying but Sam was too late.

"Nothing" Sam answered "she won't let me visit her anymore"

Jon swallowed thickly while he looked at his desperate friend.

"I'm sorry" Jon said "I just wanted the best for the baby and I didn't think she would blame you for anything"

"That's right you didn't _think_" Sam said "well I hope you're happy because she is going to give the baby away and she won't see me anymore"

"The baby will have a much better life this way" Jon said "now he has a chance of being accepted"

Sam shook his head while tears still rolled down his red face.

"We were going to raise him together" Samwell said softly "she doesn't need me anymore now and even if she does she'll always associate me with her lost baby"

Jon tried to put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder but Sam shied away from him.

"She probably hates me" Sam said.

"She doesn't hate you, Sam" Jon said "if there's anyone she hates then it should be me and besides you guys can still have a future together and have children when you're both ready"

"We _were_ ready!" Sam said and he got up from his seat "I was finally going to proof to my father that I could do something right"

Jon didn't know what to say so he bit his lip instead.

Trying to make his father proud was something Jon had been struggling with his whole life too so he knew where Sam was coming from.

"I'm sorry, Sam" he just said "but this is Aemon's best chance"

"Fuck that!" Samwell said and Jon could see that he was as surprised by his own use of bad words as Jon was.

Jon could see Sam hesitate for a few seconds until he grabbed his backpack from the floor.

"Well, I'm leaving" Sam said "bye"

That said his friend left the AV room and Jon wondered if he would ever return.

**Jaime**

It would be the first football practice with his new team and he felt a sense of pride when he watched them on the field.

He was especially proud of his friend Brienne.

Jaime couldn't say that he had never doubted the fact that she would make it but he could say that he never doubted the fact that she had the skills to do so.

There was a small group of people sitting on the bleachers while they watched the team train.

If the weather was nice than a large group of people would always show up to watch them but the autumn chill had driven most students away.

Jaime wished that there was a bigger crowd because he had noticed that they boys always tried harder when girls were watching and it would help them get used to the noise spectators make.

He remembered that it had been a lot louder than he had expected when he played his first game.

Jaime was one of the youngest students to ever join the football team so it had been even more overwhelming.

He had been cocky though and he was sure that his natural talent would help him get through the game and eventually he had been right.

Jaime wondered how Brienne would perform at her first game.

He didn't think she could handle being under pressure as much as he could but she was going to have to learn it rather sooner than later.

Jaime had always found a way to retreat into himself which helped him focus on the game and ignore the cheering and shouting crowd.

He had to admit that his sister and her cheerleading squad had never helped him win before because he barely noticed them.

Jaime used to think though that her presence made him play better but now he just wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

Deep down he would always love her sister but that didn't mean that he didn't hate her guts.

"Oh man, is She-Man playing for the team now?!" Jaime heard someone shout from the bleachers.

Brienne was standing with her back to the bleachers and even though she didn't turn around her face turned red.

Jaime thought he recognized the guy that had shouted as Hyle Hunt, an annoying boy that had never been taught to keep his mouth shut.

"This should be fun" Hyle Hunt shouted again "Let's make a bet about how long she will stay on the team, shall we? Any takers?"

Jaime heard a few students laugh before Hyle continued.

"Personally I don't think it will be longer than a week" the boy said "Come on, look at her! I know she's big and all but I can take her out with one hand and I don't think the rest will go easy on her"

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Jaime had to blink a few times before he trusted that his eyes were telling the truth.

Brienne had turned around and she was looking at Hyle with her hands clenched into fists.

"Excuse me?" Hyle Hunt asked confused.

"If you think you can take me out with one hand, why don't you give it a try?" Brienne asked him with that stubborn look of hers plastered onto her face "Does anyone want to bet how long he will able to stand on his feet? Personally, I don't think it will be longer than five minutes"

Hyle Hunt's confused expression was starting to look slightly panicked now.

Apparently he wasn't used to his victims standing up for themselves and Jaime had to admit that Brienne's new attitude surprised even himself.

"I don't fight girls" Hyle said nervously chuckling but no one laughed with him.

Everyone knew that it was a stupid excuse.

"Girls?" Brienne asked him while pretending to be confused "Didn't you just call me She-Man?"

Everyone was looking at Hyle now and even Jaime wondered what he was going to do next.

"Fuck off" he muttered eventually and he climbed down the bleachers and left the football field.

Brienne smiled at Jaime which lit up her sapphire eyes and he smiled back at her.

He was glad that she had finally grown a backbone.

**Robb**

Robb looked around the living room and he had to admit that his friend had really outdone himself.

Theon had installed some disco lights, there was a fog machine and a table filled with all kinds of liquor.

They could play beer pong in the kitchen if they wanted to and Robb already knew that someone was going to dislocate his shoulder while trying to do a keg stand.

Robb didn't think that Theon was going to throw the party he had promised to, to be honest, but his friend had pleasantly surprised him.

He knew that it must not have been easy for Theon to convince his father but he had pulled through nevertheless.

Theon had plainly told him that if his father was going away for a business trip then there was no reason why he couldn't throw a party.

Robb suspected that he didn't tell that the party was for him though since his father had always hated the Starks but it was a start.

Robb looked at his friend who was talking to Jeyne about the lighting and he couldn't help but smile a little.

His friend had come a long way but no one couldn't deny the fact that it had made him stronger somehow.

The insecure, overcompensating layer Theon had plastered on top of his personality had peeled off and left a more confident person who wasn't afraid of letting other people in.

"It looks great, Theon" Robb told his friend while he approached him with a smile on his face.

"Thanks" Theon said smiling "but someone has to remind me to take the Stark posters down before my dad comes home or else I have a feeling I while have a suspicious fishing accident"

Robb and Theon both laughed at that but deep down he feared that Theon might be right about it.

Talisa returned from the bathroom and walked into the living room.

She hadn't come to Arya's performance because she wasn't feeling well but he had convinced her to come to the party with him.

She looked as beautiful as always in her light blue dress and he smiled as soon as he saw her.

Tomorrow they would go see the doctor and they would have their first ultra sound and he had to admit that he was both nervous and excited.

He knew that it wouldn't be easy for them to raise a child so young but the longer he thought about it, the more he liked it.

"That's a really pretty dress, Talisa" Jeyne said smiling.

Jeyne herself wasn't as exotic as Talisa or as beautiful as Cersei or Sansa but she was pretty nevertheless and every time she was with Theon she seemed to shine.

"Thank you, Jeyne" Talisa said.

"You're studying medicine, right?" Jeyne asked her impressed and Talisa nodded.

"I couldn't even cut in a frog during biology class" Jeyne said "I can't imagine what it would be like to cut in a human body!"

Jeyne shuddered and Theon put his arm around her shoulder.

"Well it's what I'm planning on doing for a living" Talisa said "I want to really help people, and I've never been afraid of getting my hands dirty"

"That's so cool" Jeyne said and Robb's worries that his friends wouldn't like Talisa faded.

Talisa was far more independent than he sometimes gave her credit for and he needed to trust the fact that she could stand her own ground.

She wasn't a damsel in distress and maybe that was exactly why he had fallen for her in the first place.

**Jeyne**

The music was blasting through the house and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Jeyne was sitting on Theon's lap on the couch and she snuggled up to him while he stroked her hair.

She watched the other teenagers dance in the living room which had soon become cramped while the lights flickered in every colour she could imagine.

She noticed that most students were already drunk and the party hadn't even started that long ago.

Jeyne guessed that a fair amount of people would vote for Robb this Friday, if they could still remember this night tomorrow morning though.

The door to the living room opened and some more students entered.

This wasn't anything strange because students had been walking in and out of the living room for a while now.

Jeyne stared at a beautiful girl with dark hair and blue eyes while she tried to figure out why she looked so familiar.

The girl turned around and for the first time Jeyne could see her complete face.

Her jaw dropped a little while she looked at the girl.

The girl's eyes met hers and it wasn't long before her blue eyes welt up with tears.

Jeyne's eyes did the same of course while she got off Theon's lap and approached the girl.

"Your hair..." Jeyne said and the girl started to cry.

"I kind of hate it" Sansa said and Jeyne immediately hugged her friend.

They held each other for awhile while tears streamed down both their faces while they still made sure that it didn't ruin the fabric of their dresses.

"I'm sorry for being a bitch" Sansa said.

"You weren't a bitch, I was!"Jeyne said and she couldn't feel more relieved that they were finally talking again.

Ramsay had ruined nearly every aspect of Jeyne's life and Cersei had not been much kinder to Sansa.

It had almost seemed too much to wish for their friendship to be restored but somehow it had been.

"I love you, Jeyne, and you're my best friend and if I'm ever, and I mean _ever_, as self-absorbed as I was then you have to tell me!" Sansa said while tears still glistened in her eyes "because I don't ever want to risk losing you again"

"No, you did nothing wrong!" Jeyne said who couldn't stand to see Sansa crying "I should have been at your side when you needed me most, I shouldn't have let Cersei hurt you!"

"Oh, Jeyne" Sansa sighed and they hugged again.

"Man, did we sound as cheesy as they do?" Theon asked Robb who both had walked up to them to see what was going on.

"Gods, please, tell me we didn't" Robb answered shaking his head while he looked at them with big eyes.

Jeyne knew that they were only teasing Sansa and her but she couldn't care less.

She had her friend back and that was all that mattered.

"So you two are finally dating, right?" Sansa asked Theon and Jeyne while she looked from one face to the other.

Theon nodded and he smiled at Jeyne who could immediately feel a blush spread across her face while the butterflies fluttered around in her stomach.

"It was about time" Sansa said with a warm smile while she wrapped her arm around Jeyne's shoulder.

"Weren't you the one who always told me that I shouldn't date him?!" Jeyne asked her friend laughing.

Sansa shrugged and she tossed her now dark hair.

"I liked Joffrey so I don't think I should be giving anyone advice on who they should and shouldn't date" she said.

Jeyne couldn't help but chuckle a little at that.

"I'd say I told you so" Jeyne said "but I've had my share of bad boys"

Theon put a protective hand on her arm as soon as he heard her talk about Ramsay.

She couldn't thank the Old Gods or the New enough for Theon who had turned out to be her true knight in shining armour, how dented that armour might have been at some point.

Sansa gave her a confused look and she guessed that Sansa didn't know anything about her failed relationship with Ramsay.

"What do you mean?" Sansa asked her.

"Never mind" Jeyne said shrugging and she somehow managed to put a smile on her face "I don't want to spoil the party and we'll have enough time to talk about it later"

Sansa nodded reluctantly but she just had to accept the fact that Jeyne wasn't ready to tell anyone about what had happened yet.

The scars still seemed too fresh to her.

Suddenly a song Sansa and she always used to sing in front of the mirror in Sansa's bedroom started playing.

"Do you want to dance?" Jeyne asked her friend.

"Do you even have to ask?" Sansa asked in return.

They both laughed, waved at the boys and somehow managed to reach the dance floor through the crowded room.

Sansa and she started dancing and for the first time neither one cared who was looking at them because they were both just happy to be together again.

**Renly**

Renly had to admit that there were only two reasons why he had come to Robb Stark's party: because Loras had begged him to, and because he wanted to see what Balon Greyjoy's house looked like.

It was actually a lot different from what he had expected.

The old mansion where he and his brothers had grown up was of course a lot larger than Balon's house but this one was somehow more modern with its large windows and a view of the sea.

Currently however the complete house seemed to be packed with teenager until the extent that Renly constantly held Loras close so he wouldn't lose him in the crowd or at least that was the reason he told himself.

The music was loud and the people louder and Renly had to admit that it was a good party and Renly knew everything there was to know about parties.

Stannis had always hated to come home to Storm's end and finding it filled with empty bottles and teenagers who had apparently fallen asleep during the party.

Renly still remember the huge fight they had when Stannis discovered a couple sleeping in his bed who obviously had had sex the night before.

The fact that it had been their older brother Robert who loved Renly's parties at least as much as Renly loved them had not really improved Stannis's attitude towards the situation either.

A boy walked up to them and Renly had to admit that he didn't know his name apart from the fact that he knew he went to Stannis' high school.

"I'm so gonna vote for you guys" the boy said sounding more than slightly drunk.

Renly shot Loras a confused look who just shrugged as a response.

"Thank you" Loras said smiling " every vote counts"

The boy disappeared into the crowd again leaving Renly more than a little confused.

"What was that all about?" Renly asked his boyfriend.

Loras shrugged again.

"He was drunk of his ass and thought you were Robb or something" he said "no harm done, right?"

Renly couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on but Loras already dragged him into the kitchen.

"Robb, I love you, man!" Renly heard Theon Greyjoy say who was struggling to stand up straight "and I'm gonna show you too!"

"Theon, you're not going to do a keg stand, right?" Theon's adorable, little girlfriend asked him sounding concerned.

"Yes, I am and it's going to be awesome!" Theon said with a huge smile.

Renly could hear some people start chanting the word "keg stand" over and over again and Renly had thrown enough parties to know what was going to happen.

Theon was definitely fit so normally it wouldn't have been a problem but he was already too drunk to stand let alone do a keg stand.

Renly walked up to Theon and took hold of his arm.

"Hey, buddy, maybe you shouldn't do that" he said.

Theon gave him a very confused look as if he had never seen him before.

"You're Robert Baratheon's gay brother, right?" Theon asked him while wobbling on his feet.

"Yes, that's me" Renly said repressing the urge to let out an annoyed sigh.

"Cool" Theon said nodding "Can you let go off me now?"

Theon tried to get away from Renly while the teens still shouted for a keg stand but Renly stopped him before he could get far.

"Look at your girlfriend" Renly said looking into Theon's dark eyes with his blue ones.

Theon gave him another confused look.

"Jeyne?" he asked him slowly and he turned around.

Jeyne was basically begging Theon not to do it with her eyes because Renly and she both knew that he was going to break an arm or something.

"She doesn't want you to do it" Renly said.

Theon seemed to finally realize what was going on.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Theon asked her and this time it was Jeyne who had to repress the urge to sigh.

"Come here, you handsome crazy person" Jeyne said chuckling and she wrapped her arms around Theon's neck.

Jeyne quickly mouthed "thank you" in Renly's direction before she and Theon engaged in what seemed like an hour long make out session.


	23. Chapter 23

Day 23: Showing Affection

**Robb**

The nurse moved the machine over Talisa's belly until she found something on the screen.

Robb couldn't believe how small it was until he noticed the heartbeat.

Talisa had been pregnant for eight weeks now and he had known about it since two or maybe three weeks but it had never felt more real than it felt right then.

He took hold of her hand and he squeezed a little bit while he didn't dare to take his eyes of the screen in fear that the vague image might disappear completely.

"There it is" the doctor said smiling while she pointed at their child on the screen.

"Our baby" Talisa said softly with a huge smile on her face.

Robb had heard people say that pregnant women had a certain glow about them and he couldn't agree more when he looked at his girlfriend.

He pressed a kiss on the knuckles of the hand he was holding.

"Everything appears to be fine" the doctor said "I'm just going to show these pictures to one of my colleges and I'll give you a few minutes alone"

The doctor left Talisa and Robb alone in the room with the young nurse while the screen still showed the image of their child.

They heard a few careful knocks on the door and it opened a little bit.

"Can we come in?" Theon asked looking through the crack.

"I guess one person won't be a pro-..." the nurse started carefully before Jeyne interrupted her.

"Can we see the baby?" she asked excited while she tied to look over Theon's shoulder but failed because she was too short.

"Well it's not really..." the nurse tried before she got interrupted again.

"I want to see it too!" this time it was Sansa's voice he recognized.

Theon couldn't keep the door half-closed anymore to give Talisa and Robb some privacy because the girls were pushing him and soon the door opened completely.

It seemed like a flood of people who entered the small room.

When Robb had told Theon that Talisa and he were going to see a doctor and Theon had told Jeyne about it of course, who in her turn had told Sansa about it, who had apparently told everyone else about it which had resulted into the complete Stark family cramming into the old van once again while they drove to the hospital.

Theon, Jeyne, Sansa, Bran, Rickon, Jon, Ygritte and Arya had all gotten into the van and eventually even his mother had given in.

Cat had been ignoring Talisa but even she couldn't keep it up when seeing her grandchild's first ultra sound was on the line.

"Oh it's so tiny!" Jeyne said and she and Sansa immediately walked to the screen showing the image.

The nurse seemed more than a little bit uncomfortable but no one was paying attention to her soft complaints.

"Congratulations" Ygritte said smiling and Robb noticed that she was holding hands with Jon again.

Apparently she hadn't appreciated the fact that Jon and Daenerys had gone to Arya's concert without her even though Ygritte herself couldn't make it anyway.

It was good to see that they had patched things up again one more time but Robb had to admit that it was starting to become difficult to keep up with the fact if they were dating or not.

"Is there a baby in your belly?" Rickon asked Talisa confused but so many people were talking at the same time that Talisa and he decided to ignore the question.

He wasn't looking forward to having to explain something like that to his little brother.

"Do you think it's going to be a boy or a girl?" Bran asked Robb and Talisa.

"We don't know yet of course" Talisa said "but I think it's going to be a boy"

"We're going to name him Eddard after father" Robb told his little brother.

Robb suddenly noticed his mother standing among the crowd.

A single tear rolled down her cheek but there was a small smile on her face.

"Thank you" she mouthed in Robb's direction before she hugged him and strangely she hugged Talisa too afterwards.

"Welcome to the family" Cat told Talisa who smiled at her in return.

**Sansa**

Sansa was sitting at a table in the school's library while sketching her prom dress during her free period between her Common Tongue class and math.

Her prom dress was blue this time to match her eyes and Jeyne had helped her pick it out.

Sansa liked the dress a lot more than the one she had worn at her birthday party sine it wasn't as revealing and it didn't clash with her auburn hair.

She looked up from her sketch and checked the clock.

Sansa let out an annoyed sigh when she noticed that she was going to be stuck in the library for another 30 minutes before her next class started.

The teachers hadn't given them any homework because it was the day before prom which meant that she didn't really have anything to do, especially because all of her friends had classes right now.

She twirled her hair around her finger while she watched Tyrion Lannister walk into the library and sit down a few tables away from her.

Sansa remembered how hard she had been on him less than a week ago and she couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty about it.

There was a good chance that she had judged him unfairly.

Jon had told her how much of a help Tyrion was to Daenerys and that he was really doing everything he could to help her become Prom Queen.

Apparently some Lannisters did help other people without wanting something in return even though Sansa had to admit that she suspected that a part of the reason why he was helping her was the fact that he was trying to keep his sister from being crowned.

Sansa knew that that could actually be considered a good cause after everything that Cersei had done to her and other people so she didn't hold the possible ulterior motive against him.

Sansa got up from her seat and walked across the library.

She could feel Tyrion's eyes following her while she approached him and sat down in the chair across from him.

"Hey" she said softly.

"Hello" Tyrion said without looking up from the book he was reading.

She had seen him looking at her before so she didn't get why he was suddenly faking disinterest but she decided not to push the subject.

"I just wanted to apologize for last week" Sansa said looking at her nails instead of him "I shouldn't have judged you because of what your sister has done, it wasn't fair and I regret it"

Tyrion seemed to study her face for a while with his mismatched eyes before he let out a tired sounding sigh and his facial expression softened.

"It's fine" he said "I'm used to it by now"

Sansa bit her lip and she couldn't help but still feel guilty.

"Can I make it up to you somehow?" she asked him carefully.

A sad smile appeared on Tyrion's face and he suddenly seemed a lot older than he was.

"I thought you didn't feel comfortable around Lannisters" he said.

A blush spread across Sansa's face.

"It's probably too late to take that back, right?" she asked him while trying to make him crack at least one happy and real smile.

"Yes" he admitted chuckling "but there's one thing you could do about it"

"What is it?" she asked him and she was too nervous to feel relieved yet.

It wasn't unlikely for Tyrion to make a sarcastic comment at this point which would only make her feel worse.

"You could proof that you've changed your mind by going to Prom with me" Tyrion said "unless you have a date of course"

Sansa shook her head and she had to admit that she still didn't have a date yet.

After everything that had happened with Joffrey and her aunt Lysa Sansa hadn't even felt like finding a decent date for Prom.

The memory of her crying aunt's face while she wrapped her arms around her older sisters neck was a bit too vivid to leave any room for romance.

Lysa was going to divorce Petyr because he beat her after Sansa left the house.

She felt guilty for leaving her aunt behind but she didn't think there had been anything she could have done about it if she had been there anyway.

Her aunt had told Cat that she had to leave Petyr to protect Robin from him and Sansa thought this was the first rational thought her aunt had had in months.

"Sure, I'll be your date for Prom" Sansa said and she managed to put a genuine looking smile on her face even though she felt terribly nervous.

She wondered what people would say if she walked into the decorated gym as Tyrion Lannister's date but maybe the problem was that she just shouldn't worry about what other people were thinking.

"What colour will your dress be?" Tyrion asked her smiling and she could see it in his mismatched eyes that he was still expecting her to back out.

_Two can play at that game_ she thought and she almost smiled.

"Blue" she said "pick me up at seven"

That said she got up from her chair, blew him a kiss and left the library.

**Jeyne**

The wind was playing with her hair while she leaned on the railing of the sailing boat.

She closed her eyes and inhaled the salty air while she listened to the sound of the waves.

It was the first time since Ramsay's arrest that she felt completely at ease.

Jeyne still had nightmares about him in which he came back to hurt her or Theon and she would wake up covered in cold sweat while breathing heavily.

Theon would comfort her of course and hold her until she calmed down again but she didn't want to stay his broken girlfriend forever.

She wanted him to know that she could take care of him too from time to time and that somehow she could be strong again.

They would have to start somewhere of course but on the sailing boat, out on the open sea, she felt like she could at least give it a shot.

Jeyne turned around and she looked at Theon who was working with the sails.

He was a Greyjoy and Ironborn so the sea was in his blood.

He looked so strong while his white T-shirt fitted him neatly and showed off his fit body.

Theon smiled at her when he noticed that she was watching him.

She blushed a little and she smiled back.

He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his body against hers.

She felt so small and safe in his arms like nothing could ever hurt her again.

"Are you cold?" he asked her while he tugged a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

He had already given her his leather jacket which fitted her slim figure more than loosely.

It was chilly out on the sea but she didn't feel cold when she felt his body's heat against her skin.

She shook her head while she looked at him with her big, brown eyes.

Jeyne realized how stupid she had been when she was younger.

She thought she loved Ramsay but that feeling was nothing compared to what she felt now and to be honest even her crush on Theon before everything had happened seemed childish now.

Somehow they had grown and their bond had become so much stronger.

He cupped her cheek with one hand and smiled at her again.

Jeyne loved his smile.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?" he asked her.

"You don't have to" Jeyne answered quickly.

Jeyne had been told before that she was pretty and she thought Ramsay had used the word beautiful before but it wasn't something she saw when she looked into the mirror.

It wasn't that she didn't like the way she looked but it had always been a little bit too easy to compare herself to her more beautiful friend Sansa.

"I do" Theon said "I don't know anyone as beautiful as you, Jeyne"

Jeyne got up on her tip-toes and pressed a kiss on Theon's lips while his fingers moved through her hair.

"Thank you" she whispered against his cheek while her eyelashes brushed against his skin.

Jeyne looked into his eyes again and she took hold of his hand.

They hadn't done anything more than kissing yet but she was building up the courage to do so.

Her bruises had almost completely faded and her body had healed.

Jeyne wanted to thank Theon, she wanted to love him and most of all she wanted him inside of her.

She moved his hand to her right breast in which Ramsay had dug his nails violently during what could hardly be described as making love.

Theon's touch was gentle though while his eyes seemed to ask her for permission.

"Are you sure?" he asked her softly.

Jeyne nodded and she could feel her own doubts disappear.

"I love you" she said "and I want to show you how much"

A smile spread across Theon's face and he kissed her.

"I love you too" he said while he rested his forehead against hers "always"

**Arya**

Arya was sitting on the couch next to Gendry who had put his arm around her shoulder while they were watching one of their favourite TV shows which starred a group of stupid but awesome people who preformed what seemed like life threatening stunts.

Rickon was sitting on the myrish rug in front of them while playing with his toy cars and possibly permanently ruining the rug, Bran was sitting on the couch too playing with his game boy while wearing huge, expensive headphones Arya had bought him for his birthday last summer.

Sansa and Jeyne were upstairs and they were trying out different hairstyles for Prom tomorrow.

Arya had honestly never heard of a dumber way to spend your afternoon, except maybe for Robb and Theon who were at the gym right now.

She had seen too many boys showing off in the gym for that to still seem attractive to her.

Gendry was pretty fit too but there was something appealing to the thought of him getting sweaty while training with dumbbells in his garage and it just wouldn't be the same if he did this in a gym.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and Arya let out an annoyed sigh.

"Sansa, can you get the door?!" she shouted while hoping that her older sister would be able to hear her.

Usually they made their mother open the door but she was at aunt Lysa's house to comfort her and eat ice cream or something.

Strangely Lysa's upcoming divorce from Petyr had brought the sisters closer together because for the first time there wasn't a man standing in-between of them.

"Get it yourself!" Arya could hear Sansa shout in her turn.

Arya let out another sigh and she got up from the couch.

"Lazy girl!" Arya shouted while she passed the stairs so Sansa could hear her.

She opened the front door and she honestly had no idea who it could be, but she just hoped it wasn't some annoying salesperson because she honestly wasn't in the mood.

"Hello, love" her father said smiling when she had opened the door for him.

"Dad!" she shouted and she quickly hugged him.

She was afraid that she was going to cry again.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I've told Robert that I need some time off with my family" her father said while he stroked her hair "I've spent enough time trying to help them but no one will listen to me"

"Well I'm glad that you're home" she said.

"Dad!" she heard someone shout and Bran joined them followed by Rickon.

They heard some doors slam shut and Sansa and Jeyne ran down the stairs as soon as they noticed that Ned had come home for the first time since summer vacation ended.

Both girls were wearing curlers in their hair but they seemed to have forgotten about it.

Arya had to admit that she couldn't think of a single occasion when Sansa had forgotten about something like that so their father's return must mean as much to Sansa as it meant to her.

"Sansa, look how you have grown!" Ned said and he gave his eldest daughter a hug.

"Dad, it's so good to see you" Sansa said and Arya detected tears in her sister's blue eyes.

"It has been way too long, hasn't it?" he asked and they all hugged again.

It was something they hadn't done in a long time and she could finally say that she felt like a family again.

"Where are Robb and Jon?" Ned asked them when they finally let go of each other again "and your mother?"

"Theon and Robb are at the gym" Jeyne answered quickly and Arya noticed the smile that appeared on Jeyne's face as soon as she mentioned her boyfriend.

Arya had to repress the urge to roll her eyes at that but people had told her before that she had started to do the same thing when she talked about Gendry and by people she meant Jon who still liked to tease her from time to time.

"So you finally got together, right?" her father asked Jeyne chuckling who nodded as a response while a huge smile and a blush spread across her face.

"Mom is at Lysa's house" Sansa said "and Jon's at his girlfiend's house"

"Actually I think he's with Dany" Arya said and Sansa and Jeyne shared a meaningful look.

Ygritte wasn't the only one who suspected that something was going on between Jon and Daenerys.

"You can talk to them later during dinner" Arya said and the thought of having a family dinner again with her father couldn't have made her any happier as it did right then "but first there is someone you need to meet"

Gendry had been watching them silently while standing in the doorway to the living room.

"Hello, Mister Stark, my name is Gendry" her boyfriend said while he shook Ned's hand "I'm Arya's boyfriend"

"Boyfriend, right?" he asked Arya while raising one eyebrow at her "well I guess that you're going to stay over for dinner then because there is a lot I want to ask you"

Arya could hear Gendry swallow thickly and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Calm down, you stupid bull, no one's going to hurt you" she said while she playfully punched his arm.

**Daenerys**

Illyrio had gone to his yoga class and he had left Daenerys alone at his luxurious apartment.

The TV was one but Dany had muted the sound while she looked out of the window and into the garden which was several feet below of them.

Illyrio's apartment existed of the entire highest floor of the building and was both large and beautiful.

Daenerys had to admit that she didn't know many of the other people who lived in her building but she had a feeling that they had all been hand selected by Illyrio.

He was the one who owned the building after all and he wasn't one for taking risks at least not risks of that size.

If someone killed her Illyrio would lose his most valuable possessions even more valuable than the golden statue in the garden below and he would never risk that.

Daenerys wondered if there were still people out there who wanted her family death.

She had to admit that it was hard to imagine for her.

It hadn't been so hard when she still lived across the Narrow Sea.

The people from Westeros had all been faceless to her which had made it easier for her to envision them as murderous barbarians who took down her family's empire out of jealousy and spite.

Viserys had fed these delusions of course and she couldn't deny that there was a huge possibility that he was the source behind these delusions too.

It hadn't made her hard life any easier but everything had changed when she actually arrived in Westeros.

It was almost impossible for her to imagine Jon or his family as one of the people who had had a hand in destroying The Royal Targaryen Enterprise and in killing her father and she couldn't hate him either.

She even considered Tyrion a friend and he was a Lannister!

Suddenly she heard someone knock on the door.

Dany wondered if Illyrio had decided to come home early but that wasn't likely.

She got up from her seat, put on her beaded slippers and walked to the front door.

Daenerys checked the little screen next to the door and she recognized Jorah's face.

She considered leaving him outside for a while but eventually she gave in and opened the door for him.

"Khaleesi, you look as beautiful as ever" Jorah said when she opened the door for him and he smiled as soon as he saw her.

It was a smile that could still break her heart.

Her relationship with Jorah was more than a little bit complicated.

He had been her favourite professor at the last school she attended across the Narrow Sea, he had thought her much about the Dothraki culture, he had protected her when she had no one else and when Drogo had just passed away but he was also the man who had told secrets about her to people who wanted nothing more than to see her head detached from her body and then there was one more thing, maybe even the saddest one, his love for her.

He was older than her, much older but it was not a fatherly love that he felt and she had to admit that she didn't think the idea was completely repulsive either.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

Jorah had tried to contact her many times since he followed her to Westeros but he had never come to her house before because she had clearly told him that she wasn't ready for that yet.

"I've come to say goodbye" he said and she had to admit that this took her by surprise.

"Why?" she asked him.

She could clearly see that Jorah was struggling to find the right words but she was going to force an answer out of him if she had to.

"You've made it clear that you do not want me near, khaleesi" he said while avoiding her eyes "there are others in Westeros who do not wish me near either, so there is no use in taking such a huge risk if there is no chance that you'll forgive me"

A part of her wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and bury her head in his chest while begging him to stay, a part of her wanted to kiss him to proof him that she needed him but she couldn't trust those parts.

_If I look back, I am lost_ she told herself again and Jorah Mormont was nothing but her past.

"I see" she said softly and she didn't allow herself to cry but she could feel the tears in her eyes nevertheless.

"Unless you ask me to stay of course" Jorah said looking at her with hopeful eyes.

She could feel her heart shatter into a million pieces but there was nothing she could do about it now.

_If I look back, I am lost._

"Be safe, Jorah" she said eventually and she pressed a soft kiss on one of his stubbly cheeks.

"Goodbye, khaleesi" he said using the Dothraki title one last time "if you ever need my help, you know where to find me"

"I do" she said and she managed to give him a sad smile "goodbye, Jorah Mormont"

* * *

**Hello lovely Readers!**

**Like usual I want to start with thanking you all for reading this story :)**

**It honestly means the world to me but like all men must die, every story needs an end and this end is nearing.**

**As you might have guessed the big climax of this story will happen during Prom which I will describe during two different chapters and a****fter this I might do an epilogue and a bonus chapter.**

**I would love to see you stick around for this and thank you again for reading.**

**Lots and Lots of love, Lady Jeyne Deadpoole**


	24. Chapter 24 part 1

Day 24 part 1: A Clash of Prom Kings

**Robb**

Music was booming through the mansion while Arya's rock battled Sansa's boy band crap and everyone was getting ready for Prom.

Winterfell had four bathrooms: the girls' bathroom, the boys' bathroom, their parents' bathroom and a guest bathroom that everyone always forgot about since it was on the ground floor next to the guest bedrooms.

The boys' bathroom was across from the girls' but they had locked the door so Theon couldn't see Jeyne before she was ready.

Neither Jeyne nor Theon completely agreed with this plan but everyone who had tried to change Sansa's mind about this, had been in danger of getting burned by a piping hot curling

iron.

Robb figured that Sansa was doing everything she could to give Jeyne the night of her life to make up for the things that had happened during the planning of Sansa's sixteenth birthday.

Robb thought it was nice of his sister to lend the spotlight to someone else from time to time but he wondered if Jeyne actually wanted all this extra attention.

He looked into the large mirror above the sink and fixed his grey tie.

He was wearing a grey suite and a black shirt which his mother and father had surprised him with yesterday.

Robb had been planning on wearing his usual tuxedo but he had to admit that this looked better on him.

"Should I shave?" Theon asked while he rubbed his slightly stubbly chin.

Robb checked his watch and he noticed that they didn't have that much time left.

"How fast are you?" Robb asked his friend in return.

"I should shave" Theon said searching the cabinets for his stuff.

Theon had as much of his stuff laying around Winterfell as he had in his own house and even though they had been fighting Robb hadn't had the heart to throw any of it out.

"Theon, I need some space" Jon said annoyed after Theon was blocking his view of the mirror so that he could shave.

"Deal with it" Theon said but he did move over a little bit so Jon could continue trying to fix his hair.

Robb didn't understand why his brother still bothered to since it would always look just as messy as before anyway.

They heard some noises coming from the girls' bathroom and their door opened.

Sansa left the bathroom and she held up a large towel so they wouldn't be able to see Jeyne when she left the room.

"Jeyne, is that you?" Theon asked looking over at the towel with a razor in one hand and a can of shaving cream in the other.

"Theon?" Robb could hear her ask and he saw a pale hand move to the towel so she could reveal herself to them.

"No, don't tempt her!" Sansa shouted and the hand disappeared behind the large towel again.

Sansa shot Theon an angry look while Jeyne and she went into Sansa's bedroom which was just next to their bathroom.

Lady followed Sansa closely while the direwolf seemed to give Theon the same angry look as Sansa had.

It surprised Robb to see that Sansa had let her direwolf into the house even though their mother had forbidden them to do so since they made too much of a mess.

He had noticed a change in his sister's behaviour lately anyway.

An annoyed Arya left the bathroom and she rolled her eyes at Robb to show him that she was actually glad that Sansa and Jeyne were done occupying the space.

"You're not going out dressed like that" Robb, Jon and Theon said simultaneously while she walked up to them.

Arya rolled her eyes again and Robb feared that one day her eyes would get stuck like that.

His little sister was wearing a short, black dress featuring an asymmetrical pointed hem with a yellow trim and a studded belt around her slim waist.

She wore fingerless gloves and she had dyed the red streak in her hair yellow this time to match the trim.

He had never seen his sister in such an exposed outfit before or in high heels for that matter and he had never expected to see her wear smokey eye makeup either.

"Oh please, you've seen Sansa wear much worse" she told Robb while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Yeah, well I just wasn't expecting... this" he said looking his sister up and down and he wondered if he needed to have a good conversation with Gendry.

"Well you're all getting dressed up so I'm allowed too" she said and Robb saw her looking at Robb and Jon.

His brother was wearing a black suite, a black shirt and surprisingly a black tie and Robb had to admit that he couldn't think of the last time he saw Jon wear colours.

Theon was wearing a tuxedo and he had been quoting James Bond, a fictional faceless man who changed his face but never his name, from the moment he put it on.

"Well just don't... I mean be safe and... just don't" Robb told his sister awkwardly while he tried to decided if he had to be the one to give her the talk.

Arya's eyes widened while she quickly stopped her brother before he could continue.

"Robb, I love you, but please never talk to me about _that_ again!" she said and he felt sort of relieved that he didn't have to talk to her about sex but he still promised himself that he would have to talk to Gendry.

"Guys, are you almost ready?" they heard Cat's voice come from downstairs.

"Yeah, I'm coming, mom!" Robb answered.

Robb turned around to see if Theon and Jon were ready too and it seemed like it.

"You look beautiful by the way, Arya" Jon said "I'd ruffle your hair but I don't want to ruin it"

"That's okay" Arya said smiling and she shrugged.

Then all of the sudden she got up on her toes and messed up Jon's hair like he had done to her a million times before but unlike Arya Jon had just spent an hour trying to get it just right.

"Arya!" he shouted and he chased the girl down the hall and Robb was glad to see that she was still faster than any of them while wearing heels.

**Theon**

Theon, Jon, Robb and Arya were already downstairs while they were waiting for Sansa and Jeyne.

"You're going to be late" Cat said while she checked her watch "like always"

Theon had known the Starks for a very long time now and he had to admit that he understood Catelyn's struggle who always tried to make sure that everyone was on time while six Stark children were working against her and occasionally a Poole kid and a Greyjoy kid too.

Talisa was the first one to come down the large, marble stairs while wearing a dark blue gown which fitted her figure perfectly.

Theon knew that she had been pregnant for two months now but she looked as slender as she had done the first time he saw her.

He noticed his friends face light up while he looked at his girlfriend and kissed Talisa.

Theon had never seen his friend as happy as he was with his girlfriend and Theon was sure that they were going to make an amazing pair of parents.

"You look amazing" Robb whispered to Talisa but he couldn't hear what her response was.

Theon noticed that Cat's disapproving look hadn't completely vanished yet but he was almost certain that it would fade over time.

He heard a faint buzzing sound and Arya retrieved her phone from her purse.

It was still strange to see her wear a purse and a dress and he didn't think he would ever get used to it.

"Oh Gendry's here!" Arya said and she walked to the front door.

She opened the door for her boyfriend and quickly kissed him before Theon, Robb and Jon could do anything about it.

Gendry was wearing dark jeans, a black fitted jacket, a yellow t-shirt with the silhouette of a stag on it and a loose tie.

The yellow shirt explained the yellow streak in Arya's hair of course since it wasn't uncommon for girls and boys to match the colours of their outfits when they went to Prom together.

"Sansa, you're going to be terribly late!" Catelyn shouted.

"One second!" Sansa responded loudly and to be honest it couldn't have lasted any longer until she appeared at the top of the stairs.

Sansa was wearing a flowing blue dress that matched her eyes.

There was a split in the dress which exposed her left leg when she walked and the fabric shimmered when it moved.

"Lords and Ladies" Sansa said while she couldn't hide her excitement "I present to you, the Lady Jeyne of House Poole"'

Jeyne appeared at the top of the stairs next to her friend and there was a shy smile on her face.

She was wearing a short, black dress with a flared skirt.

The dress had only one strap which looked like a string of black roses and it made her look both elegant and sexy.

Sansa had curled Jeyne's hair which she had put over her exposed shoulder.

Theon remembered when he saw her enter the school building for the first time after she had just started to date Ramsay.

He didn't think he had ever seen a girl that gorgeous and sexy before but she looked a million times better now.

Jeyne hadn't been comfortable in the exposed outfits she wore for Ramsay even though she had looked confident in them at first.

Theon however knew how hollow a confident smile could really be.

This dress fitted her though and she looked as beautiful as he had always known she was and as she could never see herself.

The dress was perfect but the best thing was the elegant belt around her waist which was made out of gold and shaped into a kraken.

Theon thought he vaguely recognized the belt from somewhere and he wouldn't be surprised if it was something Asha had given to Jeyne.

"Do you like it?" she asked him shyly while she moved her hands over the golden tentacles of the kraken.

Theon took hold of her hands and he didn't think he had ever kissed her as passionately as he did then and it seemed to surprise even Jeyne.

"Wow" she said softly and a little bit out of breath when they finally stopped.

"You're gorgeous, princess" he said smiling while he rested his forehead against hers.

Jeyne giggled and she blushed a little bit.

The doorbell rang but he didn't want to take his eyes of her so he didn't know who had entered the room until he heard everyone around him gasp.

He turned around and he saw Tyrion Lannister standing in the doorway wearing a dark suite which matched one of his eyes and a blue shirt which matched Sansa's dress.

Tyrion wasn't displaying his house colours but that didn't mean that they didn't see him as a Lannister.

Suddenly Tyrion found himself surrounded by Theon, Robb, Gendry and Arya who were all ready to punch him if he made one wrong move.

"Guys, this is my date" Sansa said awkwardly and Theon didn't know what to say.

The thought of Sansa going to Prom with a Lannister after everything that had happened during her party seemed ridiculous and the fact that Tyrion wasn't exactly the most handsome of the Lannister boys didn't help his chances at all.

"Good to see you, Tyrion" Jon said and Theon remembered that Tyrion and he had been helping that hot Targaryen girl so she might become Prom Queen.

The front door was still open when the last person of their party arrived and before Tyrion could say anything to Jon, he had already walked up to his girlfriend.

"Am I late?" the redhead asked.

She was wearing a silver dress with two glittering straps and a belt made out of rhinestones.

Theon noticed that she was the only girl who wore her hair up.

"Yes" Catelyn said before Jon could reassure Ygritte that she wasn't that late.

Theon figured that the fact that Jon's date was the last one to arrive, even though she was only two seconds later than Sansa's date, would become Cat's new excuse to be annoyed with him.

"Let's quickly take this picture, okay?" Catelyn said and everyone moved closer so they all fit onto the photo.

Theon and Jeyne, Robb and Talisa, Sansa and Tyrion, Arya and Gendry and Jon and Ygritte all smiled while Cat's camera flashed and left them seeing spots for a few seconds.

"A few more" Catelyn said while she quickly started pressing the button to take more pictures.

"That's enough, Cat" Ned said not unkindly when he walked into the large hallway with the marble stairs "they're going to be late"

"Just one more!" she said but Ned took the camera from her hands.

For a second Theon thought she was going to comment on that but no one was really ready to talk back to Ned yet since everyone was just too happy to have him back including his loving wife.

"You're right" she said sighing "have fun, guys, and behave, okay?"

"Sure, mom" Robb said and the group of teens left the hallway while waving at the Stark parents.

"A carriage?" Sansa asked surprised when she saw a carriage in front of their house that looked to have come straight from a fairytale.

"If you don't like it than we can go with your brothers in the limo" Tyrion said but Sansa's eyes were already twinkling while she looked at it.

"Jeyne, do you mind?" Sansa asked her friend who shook her head and laughed.

Sansa rushed to the carriage as fast as possible on her high heels and the imp followed after her with a smile on his face.

Theon didn't think he had ever seen a stranger couple than Sansa and Tyrion.

The carriage was the first vehicle to leave while Sansa waved at them as if she was royalty with a huge smile on her face.

Jon and Ygritte were the next one to leave on their motorcycle and after that Gendry and Arya left in the classic car Gendry had rented.

Theon opened the door to the limo for Jeyne and they entered the vehicle followed by Talisa and Robb.

There was a bottle of champagne in a bucket full of ice in the limo surrounded by a few glasses.

Talisa wouldn't drink of course because she was pregnant but that didn't mean that they couldn't.

"It's perfect, Theon" Jeyne told him and she pressed a kiss on his cheek "you're my prince"

**Jon**

Due to Catelyn trying to rush them and their fast motorcycle they actually arrived a bit early to the party

Only a few students had arrived before them so after they had showed their tickets at the entrance they walked onto an almost empty dance floor.

The music was already loud though while the flashing, colourful lights made Ygritte's dress glitter even more.

"You look very pretty" he told her and she smiled at him.

"You look good too" she said while she fixed his tie "though I would like to see you in a different colour than black sometime"

They laughed together and he was glad that they were having one of their good moments today.

"Do you want me to get you a drink?" he asked her.

"Sure" she said "I'll just go look around and see if I know anyone"

Jon nodded and he walked to the table with the drinks on it.

Surprisingly he found Sam standing behind the table so he could serve people their drinks if they asked him to.

"What are you doing here?" Jon asked his friend, forgetting for a second that Samwell was mad at him for convincing Gilly to give Aemon up for adoption.

"They needed people to help out so I said yes" Sam said shrugging "it's not like I had a date anyway"

Jon nodded while an awkward silence fell between them.

"You know..." Sam said eventually "Gilly called me"

"Really?" Jon asked his friend hopeful.

Sam nodded and a small smile spread across his face.

"It was very hard for her to give Aemon up of course and she was afraid that I would try to convince her to do otherwise" his friend said and he couldn't completely hide the guilty look on his face since that was exactly what Sam would have done "the family that adopted him seems really nice and I think we're going to be okay too"

Jon smiled at his friend.

"I'm glad to hear that" he said.

"I'm happy too" Sam said smiling but then his face became more serious "I just really want to apologize for my behaviour earlier, you're still my best friend Jon but I can understand if you don't want to see me again"

"Why wouldn't I want to see you?" Jon asked him "You're my best friend too and that isn't going to change that easily"

The smile returned to Sam's face and Jon was glad that that problem seemed to have resolved itself, maybe he would finally have a nice evening without drama.

"Hey, Jon" he heard a voice call and he turned around to see Daenerys Targaryen.

Dany was wearing a long, flowing, violet gown which matched her eyes and she looked very elegant and even regal somehow.

He could definitely see why her family had run the most influential company of Westeros for centuries because she seemed as royal as the Royal Targaryen Enterprise itself.

"You look very handsome" she said while inspecting his suite and brushing a nonexistent piece of dust of his shoulder.

"Thanks" he said and he could feel a blush spread across his pale face "you look gorgeous, Daenerys"

"Thank you" she said smiling "I'm really nervous though"

Her smile looked almost shy at that moment and he remembered the time she had confided in him in the park.

The time that she had kissed him.

He could still remembered what it tasted like if he concentrated.

"I'm sure that you'll be fine" he said making sure to smile but he couldn't really do anything else after remembering their kiss "You were great at the concert and I'm sure Tyrion managed to convince some people, he's pretty good with words after all"

Daenerys nodded and she smiled again.

"I really don't know how I can ever repay you two" she said "without you guys most people wouldn't even know that I existed and now I've made all these new friends"

"You don't have to thank us" he said blushing again "you deserve this title"

"Owh, Jon" she said and she hugged him "you're too kind"

"And I'm just wondering, why is my boyfriend taking so long? Could it be that he's with that Daenerys girl again? No, I thought to myself, it's probably nothing maybe everyone decided to get a drink or something" Ygritte said sarcastically while she crossed her arms in front of her chest "I guess that I'm the stupid one"

She must have walked up to them just when Daenerys hugged him.

"Ygritte, it's not what it looks like!" he said.

Ygritte shook her head and there was a hurt look on her face.

For a moment he thought he saw tears in her eyes but Ygritte never wanted to show something like that.

"I don't care what it looks like" Ygritte said "You're always with her, either you're working on the campaign or you're just hanging out as friends, you're always with her! So if you'd rather be with her then that's what you should do because I'm fucking sick of being second place all the fucking time!"

"That's not true!" Jon said.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow!" Ygritte shouted and she turned around.

The girl stormed out of the decorated gym and he quickly followed her.

"What just happened in there?!" he shouted when they had left the building and were standing in the chilly autumn air.

He could hear her sob softly while she turned her back to him so he couldn't see her cry.

"Ygritte, talk to me" Jon said and he tried to put his hand on her shoulder.

She shied away from him but she finally did turn around.

"I just want you to look at me, like you look at her" she said softly while she looked at the ground instead of him "like I'm something special, I've never had that, Jon Snow"

"You are special, Ygritte" he said but she shook her head.

"Go dance with your Prom Queen" she said "because I'm done and you're too late"

That said Ygritte turned around and walked away from him while the cold wind howled around them and tugged at their clothes.

He knew that he could run after her but maybe he was done too.

**Jeyne**

Most students were already in the gym when they arrived and she had to admit that their school had at least made an effort to make the room look festive.

The loud music boomed through the hall while the lights flickered and a fog machine created a club like atmosphere or at least as club like as Stannis allowed their Prom to be.

A large crowd of students was dancing underneath the reflecting disco ball and their Prom had a certain cliché feeling to it that she just had to appreciate being one of those girls who had dreamed just as often of Prom as her wedding day.

"Robb and I are going to get drinks for everyone, why don't you, Sansa and Talisa go dancing?" Theon asked her trying to make himself audible over the loud music.

"I'll go with you guys" Tyrion said "I'm not really one for dancing"

Sansa waved at Tyrion and Jeyne gave her friend a meaningful look.

"You've got some explaining to do" she said while crossing her arms in front of her chest and pretending to be annoyed.

"Later" Sansa said rolling her eyes at Jeyne before a smile spread across her face "now we're going to dance or perky, little asses off"

"O-okay" Jeyne said before Sansa dragged both her and Talisa onto the dance floor.

The three girls managed to find a place for themselves among the crowd where they could at least move a little bit without being crushed by other people.

Jeyne laughed and smiled while they danced to the club music that was so bad, it was good.

They got some attention from the boys surrounding them but they chose to ignore that for the most part.

Jeyne spun around and she accidently bumped into someone.

"Oh My Gods, sorry" she said quickly before she realized who she had actually bumped into.

Roose Bolton was looking at her with those pale eyes of his which looked just like Ramsay's.

There was an almost unnoticeable smile around his thin lips but all emotions looked the same on Roose's face which made him even more dangerous than his natural son.

"No need to apologize" Roose said in his usual soft voice which was surprisingly audible in the loud gym as if even the music feared him "I was simply in your way, Miss Poole"

For a second she had held the hope that he might have forgotten her face but she had always been unlucky.

"I understand that your relationship with my son has reached its end, am I right?" he asked her but it sounded more like an accusation.

"Yes, sir" she answered while a blush spread across her face.

Jeyne was afraid of what he might do to her now she had gotten his son arrested.

Ramsay had been a beast in human skin but she didn't doubt the fact that his father could be even crueller.

The thought of the room in the Dreadfort where the Boltons supposedly kept the flayed skin of their enemies crossed her mind and gave her goose bumps.

Roose's hand moved to her neck and if she hadn't been so scared she would have ran away.

"Your friend is rather good with makeup" he said while his cold fingers brushed across the bruise Ramsay had given her and Sansa had tried to hide underneath layers of foundation.

It was one of the few that hadn't completely faded yet.

Jeyne shivered and Roose pulled back his hand while he studied her face with his pale eyes.

She felt like those eyes were undressing her right there in the gym.

"I told him that his behaviour would get him into trouble, Jeyne" Roose said and he seemed to frown for a second "it is his own fault that they caught him, don't you think?"

She didn't know what to say.

She felt like giving the wrong answer would be the end of her.

"I don't know" she said eventually while looking at Roose's shoes instead of his face and even they seemed to be judging her.

Jeyne heard a soft chuckle and she wondered if that had come from Roose's mouth.

She looked up but even if he had smiled for a second every sign of human emotion was now gone.

"I hear that you're dating Theon Greyjoy now, is that correct?" he asked her.

"Yes, sir" she answered again and a part of her felt like she was cheating on Ramsay somehow, but she had to remind herself that Ramsay didn't own her and that he didn't have any power over her anymore.

"Let's hope that this time things won't end as _unfortunate _as they did between you and my son" he said and she almost shivered again due to the ice in his voice.

"Yes, sir" Jeyne said one more time and she guessed that by now Roose must suspect that she was too simple to come up with a different answer.

"Well I have chaperone duties to attend to" Roose said and he finally took his pale eyes of her "take good care of yourself, Jeyne Poole"

"I will, sir" she said and Roose Bolton finally disappeared into the crowd again.

It felt like she could finally breath again and she quickly searched the crowd for Sansa and Talisa so they could help her forget about her encounter with Roose Bolton.

**Arya**

Arya and Gendry were standing just outside of the school building so they could quickly smoke a cigarette.

Arya had changed her attitude since she had come back home; she had gone to all her classes, she had at least attempted to do all of her homework and she hadn't talked back to a teacher in two days now.

She had also promised herself that she would try to quit smoking but she thought she deserved at least a few cigarettes every now and then after acting like a saint all day.

Gendry had given Arya his jacket so she wouldn't be could and his yellow T-shirt with the stag on it seemed to glow in the dark.

Even though they weren't in the gym anymore, where their Prom was held, they could still hear the loud music and feel the vibration of the bass' notes in their chests.

"I was wondering..." Gendry said shuffling his feet nervously "what did you think when I asked you to wear yellow and black?"

Arya shrugged and she had to admit that she never wondered why he asked her to wear these colours.

Arya was just glad that he had made the decision for her because she wasn't really looking forward to going on an seemingly endless quest to find the perfect Prom dress.

This way she could eliminate most dress without having to give them more than a single glance.

"I didn't really think about" she answered eventually.

"Then what do you think about my shirt?" he asked her and Arya was starting to get annoyed.

She didn't like it when people were vague or kept secrets from her, especially if it was someone she spend as much time with as she spend with Gendry.

"Why are you asking me this?" she said throwing the cigarette butt onto the ground and stepping on it to make sure that it stopped burning.

"Your dad visited my house yesterday" Gendry said "and he told me about.. about my real family or my real father at least"

A blush spread across Gendry's face and he had continued to stare at his shoes throughout their whole conversation.

"Seriously?" she asked him surprised.

Gendry nodded and he finally looked at her again with his blue eyes.

"Yeah, he thinks my father is Robert Baratheon" Gendry said and he almost seemed ashamed.

Arya guessed that he probably was expecting her to laugh at him or that she wouldn't believe him, but she had known Robert Baratheon her entire life and it wasn't so hard to believe that he had a few bastard children here and there.

"So that's why you're wearing a stag on your shirt" she said "and why we're dressed in Baratheon colours, right?"

Gendry nodded and he looked embarrassed again.

"I mean, it's not certain yet" he said "they're going to do a DNA test next week, but he already told your father that he will recognize me as his son if it's indeed a match, I'll still be Gendry Waters but just one with a brighter future"

"What do you mean?" she asked him confused.

Gendry took hold of her hand and looked into her grey eyes.

"This way I might be able to go to a good college and get a job at Baratheon Industries when I'm older" he said "I'd still be a bastard, I know, but at least I'd be a better match for you"

A disgusted expression appeared on Arya's face while he spoke those last words.

"A better match?!" she asked him appalled "do you have to give my father six cows and a goat so you can marry me or something? I'm still Arry Underfoot, okay? I honestly don't give a shit if you're a mechanic or a CEO of some boring company as long as you're happy with whatever you're doing for a living!"

Gendry chuckled softly at that while he put his arms around her waist.

"I'm happy as long as I'm with you" he said.

Arya rolled her eyes at that and gave him a quick kiss.

"Stupid bull" she said lovingly "or should I call you stupid stag now?"

They laughed at that and he kissed her again before they went back into the decorated gym.

**Daenerys**

She had waited all night for this moment and it had finally come.

Dany could feel butterflies flutter around in her stomach while she clenched her hands into fists and she couldn't help but smile.

Stannis entered the stage with the DJ booth on it and he walked to the microphone.

The music stopped and every student turned his attention towards their school's headmaster.

"Will all the nominees, please, enter the stage" Stannis said and his solemn expression already showed how excited he was for the coronation of the school's new Prom King and Queen.

Daenerys guessed that Stannis wouldn't even have a Prom if he wasn't pressured into it by students and parents.

She thought he seemed like the kind of man that never got nominated for Prom King, even though deep down he always really wanted to.

Daenerys walked to the stage and Robb Stark lend her a hand so she could easily climb onto it.

She thanked him softly before she took place next to Margaery Tyrell.

The candidates for Prom King and the candidates for Prom Queen were standing at the opposite sides of the stage and Daenerys guessed that had to do with the fact that she was nominated without a King.

Dany studied the faces of her candidates and she wondered if she stood a chance against them or if their work had all been for nothing.

_Even if I don't win, it was worth the try_ she told herself.

Cersei Lannister was wearing a gorgeous and extravagant red dress whit a split that showed off one of her long legs and a golden belt with a lion's head on it.

Cersei had definitely lost some of her followers along the way due to her outbursts but she had ruled the school for years and it didn't exactly hurt that her last name was Lannister which was still one of the most powerful families in Westeros and people always tend to follow a famous name.

Margaery was standing next to her in a beautiful green gown which showed off more cleavage than Stannis usually would have approved of and there was a delicate tiara in her hair which seemed to be made out of golden roses.

Daenerys knew that Margaery was popular but Cersei's stunt with the posters had done a lot of damage to her reputation too.

Sansa was the last candidate in their little line-up and even though she had announced that she wasn't going to actively try to become Prom Queen, Daenerys knew that her brother had tried twice as hard instead.

Dany knew that if people were going to follow a famous name than there was a good chance too that they would vote for the Starks.

Too be honest it was almost impossible to predict who was going to win so all she could do was hope against hope that Stannis would speak her name.

"Now the moment you've all been waiting for" Stannis said and he started opening the envelope.

Everyone seemed to be holding his or her breath while Stannis read the small note that had been in the envelope.

Stannis' face turned even grimmer than usual and she could hear him grind his teeth.

"This is ridiculous" he said shaking his head.

"Who is it?" Cersei asked quickly and Daenerys had to admit that if the Lannister girl hadn't asked him she would have done it herself.

She couldn't wait any longer, she just had to know now!

"Renly and Loras" Stannis said when the doors to the gym opened and the two boys entered the gym.

Daenerys didn't understand what was going on while rage spread through her body like venom.

She had worked so hard on this.

Tyrion, Jon and she were going to bring chance to this school, they were going to make a difference and now suddenly all of that had been taken away from her.

"What?!" she shouted louder than she had meant to "This is ridiculous! You were supposed to vote for me! I was going to be a new leader, I was going to bring freedom, I was going to be your KHALEESI AND YOU CHOSE THEM OVER ME?!"

"Why in the name of the Seven would anyone ever vote for you?!" Cersei shouted while she shot Dany a disgusted look "I have ruled this school for forever and I am the rightful Queen, I should have been voted Queen!"

Margaery laughed bitterly at that.

"Forever is a nice word for it, love, just admit that you're getting old" Margaery said while she looked Cersei up and down "I would have made a better Queen than you could have ever dreamed of being, just admit it for once!"

"NEVER!" Cersei shouted.

"Stop this now!" Renly said while he entered the stage.

All three of the would-be-Queens stopped shouting and they looked at the Baratheon boy.

"I'm sorry that I've stolen your title, girls" Renly said "but something more important is going on and I needed to get my brother's attention somehow"

Stannis crossed his arms in front of his chest while he looked at his younger brother with narrowed eyes.

"I'm giving you five minutes before I'll throw you out of this school for good" Stannis said "and that's just because the students seem to like me"

"that's the point!" Renly said looking at his older brother "they like me and they should be liking you too because you work your ass off for them every single day! Let them like you, Stannis, the only thing you have to do is trust them"

"What are you talking about?" Stannis asked his brother and he seemed to get more nervous by the minute.

Daenerys could see that Stannis Baratheon was someone who like to have control over everything but his brother was something he absolutely didn't have any control over.

"Guys, what would you do if the school needed money?" Renly asked the students.

"Raise money" Daenerys said shrugging.

"Oh we could have a baking sale!" Margaery said quickly.

"We could have an auction and everyone can sell some of their stuff" Cersei said "I have some designer dresses I don't wear anymore anyway"

"We could wash cars" Robb Stark said.

More and more people starting shouting ideas which varied from good ones to terrible ones but at least everyone was trying.

"See?" Renly asked Stannis while the students were buzzing with excitement while they kept coming up with ideas to hypothetically save the school "they love this school as much as you do"

For a second Daenerys thought she saw tears in Stannis's eyes but the strong man managed to conceal them for anyone noticed that he had human emotions too.

"Let me have the plastic Prom King crown, I don't care" Renly said "but if you like it or not these students look up to you as their headmaster and they want to help you, you only need to let them"

"Fine" Stannis said eventually "but you'd better hold onto those ideas, because we're going to need them"

"We will" Renly said "but for now, let's dance!"

That said the music went back on and all the students started to party again while Renly and Loras wore their crowns.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the nominees on the stage and she couldn't help but feel stupid about her outburst.

Suddenly she spotted Tyrion and Jon near the stage and she quickly went to them.

The three friends looked at each other for a while until Tyrion spoke in an unusual high-pitched voice.

"I should be your khaleesi!"

"Oh shut up" she said and she playfully punched him.

Even though she wished that she would have won, it didn't matter in the end because she had made some amazing friends along the way.

All of the sudden the loud music stopped and a slow dance song started to play.

"Uhm would you like to dance?" Jon asked Daenerys awkwardly.

"Sure" she said blushing and the two teenagers went onto the dance floor where they never saw that Tyrion paid the DJ a few silver stags because the man had played the song that he had requested for Dany and Jon.


End file.
